Grants for New Innovators in Agri-Tech & Food Technology, Mid & North Wales – UK

Innovate UK will work with Welsh Government, Ceredigion County Council and Gwynedd Council to invest up to £400,000 in innovation projects. This funding is from Innovate UK’s Launchpad programme.

The aim of this competition is to provide a package of targeted support to enable ambitious UK registered micro and small businesses to develop highly innovative ideas that have a clear route to commercialisation and business growth. Innovate UK is offering UK registered small and micro businesses a share of the funding through this competition. In addition to the grant support, you will be offered tailored business support delivered by local business innovation experts and Innovate UK Business Growth.

The businesses will use the funding to grow their innovation activities in the agri-tech and food technology cluster in Mid and North Wales both during and after the project. For this competition, Mid and North Wales consists of Ceredigion, Powys, Anglesey, Gwynedd, Conwy, Denbighshire, Flintshire and Wrexham.

Themes

• Productivity or nutritional content
• Food processing or markets
• Sustainability or biodiversity

Scope

• The aim of this competition is to provide a package of targeted support to enable ambitious UK registered micro and small businesses to develop highly innovative ideas that have a clear route to commercialisation and business growth.
• Your project must use the funding to help to grow your innovation activities in the agri-tech and food technology cluster in Mid and North Wales, both during and after the project.
• For this competition, Mid and North Wales comprises of Ceredigion, Powys Anglesey, Gwynedd, Conwy, Denbighshire, Flintshire and Wrexham.
• Your innovation can lead to new products, processes or services that are significantly ahead of others currently available, or propose an innovative use of existing products, processes or services. It can also involve a new or innovative business model.
• In support of the UK government’s Levelling Up goals, they reserve the right to prioritise projects that:
  • significantly advance innovation (the idea)
  • have more innovation activity taking place within the innovation cluster or outside of the Greater South East
  • achieve a balance between the specific themes for this competition

Eligible Projects

Your project must:

• have a grant funding request between £25,000 and £50,000
• have total project costs that equal your grant funding request
• last between three and six months in duration
• intend to exploit the results from or in the UK
• help to grow your innovation activities during and after the project in the innovation cluster described in the Scope section
• start between 1 November 2024 and 1 February 2025
• end by 30 April 2025

Who can apply?

• To lead a project your organisation must be a UK registered micro or small business.
• If your business has been funded directly by Innovate UK previously, you are not eligible to be offered funding through this competition.
• If you have only received funding directly from Innovate UK Business Growth (previously named Innovate UK EDGE) or a Catapult scheme, you are eligible to apply for this competition.
• Businesses with directors who have previously received a grant or Innovation Loan from Innovate UK as part of a different company, are eligible to apply but will be considered on a case-by-case basis.
• A business with a previous award to a parent or subsidiary would also be eligible to apply, but the parent company must be classified as a micro or small business. Applications will be considered on a case-by-case basis.
• An eligible UK business can submit one application only. This limit extends to current owners, directors and persons of significant interest, prohibiting them from leading multiple submissions through different entities.

For more information, visit Innovate UK.