Grants are being made available to Somerset SMEs to support the growth of their businesses and to help drive economic recovery post Covid and support Somerset’s ambition to become net zero by 2030.

Applicants can apply for:

• Grants of between £25,000 and £50,000 with the applicant expected to match fund 25% of the project costs
• A few grants will be made available in the region of £100,000, for exceptional cases, with the applicant expected to match fund 50% of the project costs

We are expecting projects to have been completed by March 2023 but demonstrating sustainable impact into future years.

Eligible Applicants To be eligible applicants must be an established SME or social enterprise based in Somerset and be able to evidence potential for rapid business growth, benefit to the wider Somerset economy and a commitment to low carbon business practices.

For the larger grants in the region of £100k applicants must clearly demonstrate they are part of Somerset’s key economic priority sectors and that the activity will deliver significant wider economic and environmental benefits contributing to Somerset’s Recovery and Growth Plan and Climate Emergency Strategy priorities and outcomes.

Key Themes The funding scheme has the following key themes: Business Growth; Business Resilience; Capacity Building; Wider Economic Benefit and Low Carbon Economy

Timescales The fund will launch on Tuesday 15th March and Expression of Interests can be submitted between this date and Monday 11th April. Successful applicants will be invited to submit a Full Application.

Please email acceleratorfund@somerset.gov.uk for more information and link to the online forms.

For more information please visit www.somerset.gov.uk/gafund