Funding & Grants
Through our OxLEP Business team, we can offer funding and grant opportunities for those looking to start a business, or grow one.
We have two funds for Oxfordshire SMEs via our Elevate programme - one specifically for start-ups and the other for growing businesses.
Our grants fund activities and projects which will ultimately lead to business growth and job creation in Oxfordshire.
Our grants are:
- Available to start-up* and growing** businesses
- Subject to six competitive grant rounds
- Available to finance 33% of the total eligible project costs, with the remainder match-funded by the business or start-up
- Set to a minimum grant value of £1,000 for growth businesses, the maximum is £8,000
- Set to a minimum grant value of £1,000 for start-up businesses, the maximum is £3,000
- Not to be used for retrospective purchases
- To be used to support job creation, start-up and growth
- Only available once per business
Who can apply?
- Businesses with less than 250 employees, or start-ups based in Oxfordshire
- Eligible sectors
- Businesses who have sufficient funds for the match requirement
Grants could potentially be used for:
- Coaching
- Business consultancy
- Website development
- Marketing collateral creation, brand development and printing
- Marketing support, search engine optimisation and social media growth
- Advertising
- Recruitment costs
- Business strategy development
- Market research
- Patent search activities
- Consultancy work to support licencing and franchising
- Exhibition costs (excludes travel and accommodation costs)
- Succession planning
How to apply:
Call us on: 01865 897181 and express your interest in applying for a grant. Example grant application forms and other supporting documents are available to download on the right hand side of this page.
Sign up to the latest grant workshop here.
* Start-ups here defined as those businesses trading 12 months or less, ** Growth businesses defined here as businesses trading longer for than 12 months.
