Business Grants in Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland offers unique business funding opportunities through Invest NI, local councils, and cross-border programmes with the Republic of Ireland. Belfast and other NI businesses can access support for innovation, exports, and growth.
Invest NI Funding
Invest Northern Ireland is the main business development agency for NI. They provide grants, loans, and support for businesses looking to grow, innovate, or export. Their programmes cover R&D, capital investment, skills development, and market entry.
Local Council Support
Northern Ireland's 11 councils offer their own business support programmes. Belfast City Council, Derry City and Strabane, and other councils run grant schemes for local businesses, particularly SMEs and startups.
Cross-Border Programmes
NI businesses can also access cross-border funding programmes with the Republic of Ireland and EU-funded initiatives. InterTradeIreland supports cross-border trade and innovation projects.
Northern Ireland Business Grants
151 grants found
Accelerated Knowledge Transfer Partnerships 6 (AKT 6)
UK registered academic institutions, RTOs or Catapults can apply for a share of a £2.5 million fund to run collaborative innovation projects with businesses
Creative Industries Clusters round 2 (invite only)
Apply for funding to deliver a new Creative Industries Cluster as part of the second round of commissioning to address a clear challenge in a defined geographic region, sub-sector, or both, while focusing on creating new products, services, or experiences with strong commercial potential.
Regional Creatives Fund
A grant scheme providing funding and pro-bono support to broaden access to creative industry careers, build skills, and support underserved communities across the UK.
CfI: Earlier identification of UK children with SEN
Organisations can apply for a share of £2.5m inclusive of VAT to develop innovations that enable earlier, fairer, more reliable identification of special educational needs (SEN) in contexts where existing market solutions underperform or do not operate. This phase 1 competition focuses on developing, testing, and rolling out innovations that can be integrated into education settings for children and young people.
NatWest Accelerator Pitch (Wolverhampton Competition)
A pitch competition providing cash grants to help UK limited companies showcase their success and fund business growth plans.
ADOPT facilitator support grant: round 10
Farming, growing or forestry businesses based in England can apply for a grant of £2,500, to engage an external project facilitator to support the development of a full ADOPT grant application.
FCC Community Action Fund
Grants for not-for-profit organisations for amenity projects eligible under Object D and Object DA of the Landfill Communities Fund (LCF), located within 10 miles of an eligible FCC Environment waste facility.
Small Grants Programme
Grants for UK registered nonprofit organisations to support projects focused on Education and Heritage Conservation.
Enterprise Fellowships
Flagship deep tech accelerator programme equipping researchers and recent graduates with skills, coaching, mentoring, and 12 months of funding to turn engineering innovations into spinouts and startups without taking fees, equity, or IP claims.
Projects Peer Review Panel (PPRP) 2027
Grant funding opportunity for invited applicants who have undergone a successful statement of interest (SoI) stage and are based at an eligible UK research organisation.
Capacity building: clinical research training fellowship
A fellowship opportunity for registered healthcare professionals who are PhD graduates working outside of research to reacquire research skills, refresh their research momentum, and pursue a clinical academic research career within the Medical Research Council remit.
UK-Switzerland CR&D Round 3
Enhance UK and Swiss collaborations and capabilities in emerging technology fields (Semiconductors, Life Sciences, or Engineering Biology), resulting in the development and delivery of new innovations and applications across a broad range of sectors.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about business grants in Northern Ireland