Applying for a small business grant – everything you need to know

Anna Jordan - Smallbusiness

Having the match funding is a non-negotiable, as Diane Gilpin, founder of Smart Green Shipping, knows all too well. As her business designs wind-powered shipping solutions, she applies for research and development (R&D) grants for the most part. The company has applied for funding from Innovate UK, the European Space Agency, and from Europe Horizon.

“I found grant applications very difficult initially as a small business owner, because I wasn’t able to get everything down to however many characters or words they needed it to be,” she told Small Business. “It was much more difficult for me to be succinct about it because I’m thinking everything is really important.”