SWEF Business Grants

About this fund

SWEF Business Grants are available for young people in Scotland who are struggling to invest in their business venture and/or keen to take the business to the next level. Up to £2,000 of funding is available to support growth and development, such as expanding operations, upgrading equipment, or other business needs that will help increase your revenues.

There is no fixed closing date for this fund, and applications will be reviewed monthly.

If you are in the early stages of setting up your business, or your business is currently earning less than £500 per month earning more than £500 per month,  you may be eligible to for the SWEF Start-Up grants, details of which are available here.

Purpose of this fund

• Applications can be for grants up to the value of £2,000.
• Grants must be spent within one month of receipt of funds.
• Grant amounts are commensurate with the monthly profit of the business and the business opportunity

Who can apply?

• Applicants need to be between the age of 18-30
• Applications need to be for a UK business only.
• Applications must come from a majority shareholder.
• Applications that involve ‘match funding’ are particularly welcome.
• Applications can only come from businesses that have a business bank account.
• Applicants who are working full-time on their business are more likely to be successful with their grant application. If an applicant is not yet full-time, they will need to prove that they intend to go full time as soon as possible.
• Applications can only be from sole traders/limited companies/CICs limited by shares that have been trading less than 2 years.
• Applications that clearly explain how a grant will transform a business and take it to the next stage are the most likely to be successful.
• If an applicant intends to use a SWEF grant towards the cost of an item that is greater than £2,000, the SWEF grant needs to form 25% or more of the cost.

What can’t be funded?

How you can use the grant:

(this is not an exhaustive list)

• Equipment that will help a business achieve increased revenues. Applications that involve the purchase of second hand items are particuarly welcomed.
• Materials/stock
• Protypes and product development
• Website.booking system build
• Training
• Goods and services provided within the UK are preferred

Please note that SWEF does not provide grant funding for the following:

• Salaries
• Debt repayment
• App development or software development costs. Apps/software should be ready to launch or already launched at the point of applying to SWEF.
• Rent and utilities
• Stock for an existing product line
• Equipment or products relating to invasive beauty treatments such as botox, aesthetics, semi permanent makeup, facial tattoos, dermal fillers
• Ongoing software subscriptions
• New computers, phones, tablets.

NB on a match funded basis, SWEF will consider applications for refurbished technology.  However, in order to be successful, the applicant will need to explain why the laptop, tablet or phone will transform their business. A link to the refurbished item will also be required, with an explanation of why they need this piece of specific technology.

How are decisions made?

Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis once a month, where they will be checked to ensure they meet the eligibility criteria. 

If an application is eligible and shortlisted, a call will be arranged with the applicant and SWEF, where Foundation Scotland may also be present.