Renée’s October round-up of funding and funded programmes

Made Smarter South East is a government-funded programme created to drive growth amongst manufacturers and makers. The team provide advice and support to SMEs to help them switch to advanced and automated technologies and then use them to make everyday improvements. Support elements include:

• • Match-funding of up to £20,000

• • Expert advice, guidance and support to create a bespoke digital roadmap for your business

• • Leadership and workforce training

• • Fully-funded student internship (up to 300 hours).

Source in Surrey is an initiative delivered by Surrey Chambers of Commerce. It is dedicated to supporting local businesses to win more customers, connect with each other, access opportunities, and strengthen local supply chains across the county. An AI-powered business to business platform has been developed to streamline connections between Surrey based buyers and suppliers.

Alongside the AI-tool, a programme of roadshows, training, and events bring businesses together in person creating opportunities to learn, network, and build the relationships that power successful local supply chains.

If you’re a business with ambitions to grow, NatWest Accelerator is here to support you. Whether you’re looking to increase sales, find funding, or sharpen your leadership skills, the Accelerator has the practical tools, coaching and connections. Support includes:

• • a community of other business owners to connect with and bounce ideas off
  • access to experienced coaches and mentors
  • the opportunity to attend masterclasses and networking events

• • a community of other business owners to connect with and bounce ideas off
  • access to experienced coaches and mentors
  • the opportunity to attend masterclasses and networking events

Small Business Britain are launching their next Great British Pitch which will be happening in London on 11 November.  This time, the opportunity is to pitch your British business to European buyers. They are looking for businesses specifically in the following sectors:

• Food & Drink
• Consumer
• Retail

As well as having the chance to pitch your business across the world, via livestream to buyers specific to your industry niche, you’ll be offered support to be ready to pitch and have chance to network with other small business owners, all keen to find exciting, new, global markets for their products and services.

The National Materials Innovation Programme supports the translation and adoption of advanced materials innovations across the UK’s eight growth driving sectors, associated frontier industries and foundational industries and inputs identified in the UK’s Modern Industrial Strategy and sector plans.

This competition aims to accelerate the translation and adoption of materials innovations through collaborative industrial research, supporting the priority opportunity themes of the National Materials Innovation Strategy.Proposals must address a significant materials innovation and align with at least one competition theme and associated sub-theme.

Projects should result in materials that overcome a technical hurdle and deliver enhanced performance, functionality or efficiency.

The CoSTAR National Lab has opened a call for creative businesses developing inclusive multisensory experiences and events.  The call is intended to help businesses adapt existing projects and assess how sensory features affect audiences. These may include sound, smell or touch. Supported work must focus on adding, removing or augmenting one central multisensory element in an existing experience or event.

The support package combines cash for eligible project costs with access to equipment, facilities and research expertise. At least two projects will be supported. Individual awards are expected to range from £20,000 to £30,000, with a maximum of £40,000 available for any one project.

Each selected project can use the CoSTAR National Lab at Pinewood Studios for up to 15 days. Projects will also work with its Inclusive User Futures team and take part in structured audience research.

The scheme is intended to reduce electricity costs for businesses in eight growth-driving sectors and foundational manufacturing industries supplying them.

From 2027, eligible businesses can receive reductions of up to £40 per megawatt hour (MWh). This will be delivered through exemptions from indirect costs linked to the Renewables Obligation, Feed-in Tariffs and Capacity Market. The exemptions will begin in April 2027 for the Renewables Obligation and Feed-in Tariffs, followed by the Capacity Market in October 2027.

Businesses must operate in an eligible manufacturing sector identified through Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) 2007 codes and manufacture an eligible product in Great Britain. The product must be made at the relevant site and either sold to another party or transferred for manufacturing use at another site.

This is a pilot that supports ambitious UK businesses looking to scale deep tech connectivity solutions across telecoms, satellite and semiconductor technologies. The programme is open to high-potential UK businesses developing advanced connectivity technologies, with the ambition and potential to scale.

It supports companies working across network infrastructure and wireless transmission, photonics and advanced semiconductors, satellite communications, and quantum-secure technologies, with a particular focus on those facing barriers around technology readiness, market access, commercialisation or investment readiness.

Applications are welcomed from companies that haven’t previously accessed Innovate UK support or funding. Applications open in October 2026 with support running from January to March 2027.

Business mentoring, workshops, business clinics & networking to support the growth of businesses young and old based in Spelthorne Borough Council.

This grant programme reimburses eligible visa application fees for UK-based scale-ups hiring international specialists and their dependants. It is intended to reduce costs associated with overseas recruitment in the Clean Energy, Life Sciences and Digital and Technologies sectors.

Eligible businesses can apply for up to £25,000 per year, capped at £5,000 per hire. The grant supports fees incurred on or after 9 June 2026.

Closing date: 1 March 2027 (23:59)

Find out more:

The Elmbridge Business Boost Grants can help with a variety of projects:

• Grant support up to £2,000 to help businesses improve their shop fronts or signage
• Grant support up to £2,000 to help bring a shop that has been empty for at least 3 months back into commercial use
• up to £1,000 to help town or village wide projects to drive new footfall, investment, street-scene improvements or sustainability.
• Town and village centre independents can also apply for support to help sell online with the digital high street boost
• SMEs can get help to invest in energy efficiency projects with the green business boost.

Closing date: 31 March 2027

Businesses across Mole Valley can now benefit from expert guidance provided by IncuHive, fully funded by Mole Valley District Council. Whether you’re launching your first venture or growing an established company, IncuHive’s team of experienced advisers are on hand to offer practical, tailored support.

Closing date: 31 March 2027
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Waverley Borough Council fund IncuHive (who are specialists in small business development) to offer free tailored support to all local businesses in the borough of Waverley, including advice on business planning, funding and mentoring.

Closing date: 31 March 2027
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Guildford Borough Council fund IncuHive (who are specialists in small business development) to offer free tailored support to all local businesses in the borough of Guildford, including advice on business planning, funding and mentoring.

Closing date: 31 March 2027
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Innovate UK has opened an Expression of Interest (EOI) competition for its Innovation Loans, offering repayable finance to support late-stage R&D projects with a clear route to commercialisation. At full stage, eligible businesses can apply for between £100,000 and £5 million to support experimental development projects only.

Projects must align with at least one Industrial Strategy Sector: advanced manufacturing, clean energy, creative industries, defence, digital and technologies or life sciences.

Closing date: ongoing
Find out more: Competition overview – Innovation Loans Expression of Interest – Innovation Funding Service

Eligible adult social care employers in England can claim staff training costs from the Adult Social Care Learning and Development Support Scheme (LDSS). The LDSS is available for non-regulated care staff, including deputy and Care Quality Commission-registered managers and agency staff, within the adult social care workforce. (the fund will close when it is exhausted).

The Workplace Charging Scheme provides support for organisations towards the cost of installing up to 40 electric vehicle chargepoint sockets at their sites. The scheme covers up to 75% of the total costs of the purchase and installation of EV chargepoints (including VAT).

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has launched the Youth Jobs Grant, a payment for employers (of any size) that recruit young people aged 18 to 24 who have been claiming Universal Credit and searching for work for six months or more.

The payment is £3,000 per eligible hire. Roles supported by the grant must be at least 25 hours per week and expected to last at least four months. Eligible expenditure can include wage costs, NI contributions, pension contributions, recruitment and administration costs.

The FiPL programme provides grants to farmers and land managers in the Surrey Hills for one-off projects to make improvements to the natural environment, climate change mitigation, cultural heritage and public access on their land.

Closing date: Extended to March 2029

Find out more:

Co-operative and Community Finance offers loans of between £10,000 and £85,000 for new or existing co-operatives across the UK. Loans are to assist with the expansion, setup, or development of a co-operative enterprise. Loans will only be made to economically viable enterprises that are democratically owned and controlled organisations registered in the UK.