The Department for International Trade (DIT) has provided grant funding via a funding scheme laid out for businesses.

Eligible businesses based in England have been offered a unique funding opportunity from the Department for International Trade, which is also supported by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).

Open to small- or medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with up to 250 employees, Internationalisation Funding can be used to support market research, intellectual property (IP) advice, legal advice and consultancy, and translation services for international social media and SEO marketing.

The overall aim of the new fund is to improve international trade for SMEs following Brexit through co-investment and, as such, has specific requirements for eligibility.

Which businesses are eligible for the fund?

  • Businesses based in England
  • SMEs with international growth potential
  • Those with a prospect of employment growth or productivity enhancement
  • Annual turnover of £500k or above (although businesses with a lower turnover may still be considered if they fulfil other eligibility requirements)
  • Businesses with no more than 25% owned by a non-SME enterprise

Due to the existence of a similar scheme already, the Internationalisation Fund is not available to Cornwall & Isles of Scilly.

Applications for London-based businesses have now closed.

Further details of businesses that are ineligible for the fund are available here.

What funding is available?

Match-funded grants of between £1k – £9k are available for eligible businesses, although the total amount available varies depending on the LEP area – support tools are available to help identify the amount that can be applied for.

Businesses must be able to self-fund either the co-investment of 40% or 50% of total costs in order to secure grants.

If you think you would benefit from some additional funding or would like some advice regarding eligibility for the Internationalisation Fund – or any other available funding or grant schemes – please do not hesitate to get in touch with our team today.

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