5K Kickstarting Grant for SME Projects

Updated: the grant allocation has now been depleted.

SME's in England can access grants between £1000 - £5000 for new equipment and technology with no obligation for businesses to contribute financially.

This grant will apply to revenue projects only and is designed to ease the technological changes brought about by COVID-19 and increased remote working.

Projects

Example projects that could be implemented with this grant include: -

• Implementation of Microsoft Teams to improve communication while working from home or remotely.

• Migration to Microsoft Teams Voice to cloudify your telephone system, so customers can easily reach you wherever you and your team are working.

• Office 365 SharePoint and OneDrive, Dropbox, Google G Suite to securely move and store your file data in the cloud.

• Azure Windows Virtual Desktop to move your Windows 10 desktop into the cloud and access your apps and data from any device anywhere while still enforcing data compliance policies.

Eligibility

An SME as defined by the EU definition. This means your company or group of companies must have:

1. Fewer than 250 employees

• A turnover less than or equal to €50 million OR

• A balance sheet total less than or equal to €43 million

• SME'S including start-up businesses who have been trading less than a year

2.Businesses operating mainly in the following sectors are unfortunately not eligible:

• Fishery and aquaculture

• Primary production, processing and marketing of agricultural products

• Coal, steel and shipbuilding

• Synthetic fibre

• Financial Service Sector

Links

• https://www.gov.uk/government/news/20-million-in-new-grants-to-boost-recovery-of-small-businesses

• https://www.businesslincolnshire.com/explore/funding/search/kickstarting-grant