Northern Ireland business support finder
You can use Invest NI's business support finder database to search online for available sources of funding and support, however the main funding bodies are as follows:
- Tourism NI
- Northern Ireland Hotel Federation (NIHF): Co-operative Marketing Fund
- Ards and North Down Grants Support Scheme
- Invest Northern Ireland support
- NI Small Business Loan Fund
Tourism NI
Tourism NI periodically runs funding programmes for events and capital development. Previous schemes can be found here.
Additional opportunities include:
To ensure you are aware of any open programmes make sure you are signed up to their mailing list. They also provide insights on financial support here.
Visit Belfast
Belfast and Northern Ireland has a financial support scheme available to help offset the costs of your business meeting, conference or event. As well as the financial support scheme, the Visit Belfast team can support you at each stage of your booking and planning journey.
Belfast & Northern Ireland Conference Support Scheme
Ards and North Down Grants Support Scheme
The Council operates a range of competitive grant and funding schemes throughout the year. Grants are available for qualifying groups throughout the Ards and North Down Council area. This includes:
- Arts Grants
- Christmas Festival Fund
- Growth Event Fund
- Heritage Grants
- Neighbourhoods Tourism Fund Small Grants
- Tourism Events and Festivals Fund
Further information on applying for various grant schemes can be found here.
Invest Northern Ireland support
Invest NI offers specialist support for the tourism industry. If you are an eligible tourist accommodation business, Invest NI may be able to offer both capability and capital support. Non-accommodation tourist businesses may qualify for capability support. Submit an online enquiry here.
Subject to eligibility criteria, they can also provide funding for innovation, research & development plus capability development and business efficiency etc. More information on innovation vouchers can be found here or on the Business Innovation Grant Scheme here.
Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) Funding
DAERA offers a wide range of grants and funding to support local farming, fisheries, rural business, communities and environmental NGOs. Further information is available here.
NI Small Business Loan Fund
The NI Small Business Loan Fund is managed by Ulster Community Investment Trust on behalf of Invest Northern Ireland and delivered in partnership with Enterprise NI. It was set up to provide access to finance for small businesses, sole traders and partnerships keen to develop their business, but finding it difficult to access funding through traditional sources.
Other Funding Bodies
Programmes that may be of interest to certain sectors of industry include:
There are also numerous funding opportunities for constituted voluntary and community sector groups, e.g.
