Business Gateway Fife

Funded by Fife Council and delivered by Business Gateway Fife, the Fife Investment Fund provides financial support to Fife-based businesses looking to invest in and grow their business or progress towards Net Zero.  
  
The fund provides a fully repayable grant of up to £10,000 or 70% of the overall costs of the project being undertaken (whichever is lower) with the following conditions:

• No interest or any other charges
• An initial payment holiday of 6 months
• Following the repayment holiday, up to 24 months to fully repay the grant.

There are a number of ways the fund can be used including:

• Purchasing plant and machinery
• Property improvements
• Product development
• Process improvements
• Training
• Market development 

You may be eligible if you are a small to medium-sized business (SME) based in Fife and can demonstrate that the support will lead to increased turnover and/or employment for your business, or help it progress toward net zero emissions. Applications are submitted at the discretion of your Business Gateway Adviser.

The SME Development Grant provides financial support to help Fife-based businesses develop and grow.
The fund provides small non-repayable grants to assist with costs across the following six themes:

Trade Development
The trade development funding provides grants to:

• assist businesses with the cost of exhibiting at trade shows within the UK or Europe
• assist businesses with the cost of participating in overseas trade missions.
• support other costs associated with accessing new markets, such as exporting

Workforce Upskilling
The funding for workforce upskilling provides grants to help companies improve the productivity and profitability of their business through training and upskilling existing employees.

Transition to Net Zero
Funding to support businesses making progress towards net zero emissions through a range of measures including premises improvements, waste reduction or reuse and the creation of green jobs.

R&D & Innovation Support
Support primarily for micro-SMEs unable to access the R&D and innovation support provided by Scottish Enterprise.

Agriculture Business Diversification
Support for agriculture businesses to develop agritourism and food & drink focussed proposals as well as supporting adoption of new approaches and technologies including vertical farming.

Support for Studies
Support for businesses requiring studies (e.g., ecological impact, noise assessment) as part of a project to develop new or existing premises.

The SME Development Grant is delivered by Business Gateway Fife on behalf of Fife Council.

This grant is offered at the discretion of a Business Gateway Adviser, therefore, you must be working with Business Gateway Fife to be considered.

Businesses can receive more than one grant through this scheme, but the total amount received cannot exceed £2,850

Fife’s Specialist Business Advice programme can provide Fife-based businesses that are looking to develop with up to 3 days of fully-funded consultancy support.

Tailored, expert advice is available from specialists across a range of topics, including:

Business Development

• business strategy
• sales and market development
• marketing, communications and PR
• brand development
• quality assurance and accreditations
• product & process development
• innovation
• procurement (public and private sector) and supply chain opportunities
• business continuity and resilience

Finance

• management accounts
• financial analysis
• purchasing a business, premises or asset (inc. mergers and acquisitions)
• financial business planning
• funding application support and preparing for and securing investment
• business valuation
• pricing products and services

Social Media and Online Presence

• website development and review (inc. SEO)
• e-commerce
• social media
• digital and video content creation

Information Solutions and Technology

• connectivity
• security
• infrastructure (hardware & software)
• communications technology and solutions
• data driven solutions
• performance information and management

Legal and Property

• contracts
• intellectual property
• export/import regulations
• land and property law (inc. right to buy)
• conveyancing
• surveying and property consultancy
• planning application support
• data protection/ GDPR
• health and safety

Environmental

• energy efficiency audits and advice
• environmental strategies and plans
• waste minimisation, recovery and reprocessing
• resource efficiency
• utilities
• environmental and noise impact assessments

Human Resources and Employee Development/Wellbeing

• recruitment and employment law
• employee engagement and development
• management and leadership development
• employee and owner wellbeing
• mindfulness and mental health
• fair work

The Specialist Business Advice programme is delivered by Business Gateway Fife on behalf of Fife Council and is fully funded by the UK Government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund.

Currently Closed. See Update under How to Apply below for more information.

What is it?

• A non-repayable grant of up to £3,000 to help businesses make progress towards net zero carbon emissions.
• Open for applications from Friday 1st July 2022
• Closes to new applications on 28th February 2023 or when budget is fully allocated (whichever is earlier).
• All projects must be complete by 31st March 2023.
• Payment on approval – no requirement for upfront spend and reclaim – however, recipients shouldretain evidence of expenditure as this may be requested

Who’s eligible?

SMEs located in Fife. Priority will be given to businesses in the following sectors:

• Energy Industries
• Financial & Business Services
• Food & Drink
• Manufacturing & Engineering
• Tourism*

*Self-catering properties (including AirBnB), bed and breakfasts and guest houses are not eligible.

Where the proposed work relates to business premises, only premises which are solely for business use are eligible. Premises with combined business/residential use (e.g., a house with a home office/workshop from which the business is based) are not eligible.

Businesses whose main base is outside Fife can use the grant to improve premises they have in Fife or create green jobs in Fife.

Businesses whose main base is in Fife cannot use the grant to improve premises or create jobs outside of Fife.

What can it be used for?

Anything that will help a business make progress towards net zero emissions. Suggested uses include:

• Improvements to building fabric and equipment such as:
  • heating, ventilation, and air conditioning upgrades.
  • renewable heat technologies such as installing an air source heat pump or biomass boiler
  • improving insulation, draught-proofing, double or secondary glazing,
  • installing LED lighting.
  • installing solar panels, wind turbines and wood-burning stoves.
• Waste Minimisation, Recovery and Reprocessing:
  • Projects that will result in a reduction in waste production
  • The installation of equipment to assist with recovery and reprocessing of waste streams
  • Projects that close the loop on resources that would otherwise be wasted (circular economy)
• Creation of Green Jobs – using the Internal Labour Organisation (ILO) definition of Green Jobs:
  • "decent jobs that contribute to, preserve, or restore the environment, be they in traditional
    sectors such as manufacturing and construction, or in new, emerging green sectors such as
    renewable energy and energy efficiency".

How to apply?

Update 27^th October 2022 – as a result of high demand this fund is currently closed to new enquiries. We will update this page as and when the fund reopens. If you have already made an enquiry about the Net Zero Transition Fund to Business Gateway Fife this will still be processed. Please be aware they are currently working through a backlog and will be in touch shortly.

Applications are made at the discretion of a BG Adviser or Economic Development team member.

If you are already engaged with Business Gateway Fife, please contact your Adviser to discuss an application. If you are not currently engaged with Business Gateway Fife, please contact the team on 01592 858333 or [email protected].

A bank statement dated within the past 3 months will be required as part of the application process. This should be from a dedicated business bank account, however, personal accounts will be accepted where the bank statement shows clear evidence of business transactions.

Additional Information

• A business can only receive one grant through the Net Zero Transition Fund
• If you are undertaking a larger project, you can combine an application for the non-repayable Net Zero Transition Grant with an application for the Fife Investment Fund which provides interest free repayable grants of up to £10,000. Separate eligibility criteria apply to the Fife Investment Fund. Please discuss this with Business Gateway Fife if interested.
• Although payment is made on approval, the T&Cs of the Net Zero Transition Fund include a clause stating that evidence of expenditure relating to the grant should be retained and can be requested by us for a period of up to 7 years after receipt of the grant.