The Ambition to Grow programme looks for Northern Ireland’s most innovative and ambitious businesses to take part in a competition to receive up to £45,000 in funding. Successful applicants will also become part of Invest Northern Ireland’s client portfolio.
Designed specifically to help micro, small and medium local enterprises, the competition will support businesses to create great jobs and sell innovative products or services outside Northern Ireland.
Eligible businesses must:
- have the ambition to grow
- be ambitious, innovative businesses with the ambition to grow sales.
- have a product or service with a strong USP to take to markets outside Northern Ireland
- are a start-up or an established company that has not worked with Invest NI before
- need government support to create great jobs and to sell innovative products or services outside Northern Ireland
Financial support
Funding will be awarded to applicants on a competitive basis. Applications will be assessed and scored, with the highest scoring companies in each region awarded funding following a successful validation interview.
A maximum of £45,000 is available for each successful application as follows:
- up to £30,000 towards new employment within the business. This can be a £5,000 grant per new position (minimum of 3 new full time equivalent roles) or can be targeted towards 1 or 2 new management positions within the business (minimum salary of £30,000 with up to £15,000 grant per new role at a support rate of up to 40% of 12 months’ salary costs).
- up to £10,000 towards business development activities at a support rate of up to 50% of eligible costs which can include expenditure on market, product, or skills development.
- £5,000 on the completion of an Export Health Check, Development of an Export Marketing Plan, and completion of an Innovate NI Self-Assessment.
Financial support payments are not up-front and are dependent on the execution of specific activities as outlined in any offer of support such as job creation or exporting.
Drop-In Clinics
Invest NI’s Regional Offices will be hosting several Drop-In Clinics throughout Northern Ireland that will highlight the Programme along with additional support available from the organisation.
These drop-in clinics are an opportunity for businesses, or those planning to start a business, to come along and find out what support is available to help with your business journey. You do not need to apply for the Ambition to Grow programme to attend these Clinics.
Your local Invest NI team will be in attendance as well as Invest NI specialists covering areas such as Energy, Innovation, Finance and Market Research.
These clinics will be held at:
- Ballymena (ECOS Centre) – Tuesday 23 May 10:00-12:00
- Belfast (Invest NI HQ) – Tuesday 23 May 1:30-3:30
- Newry (Regional Office, Drumalane Mill) – Wednesday 24 May 10:00-12:00
- Omagh (Western Regional Office, Omagh, Kevlin Avenue) – Friday 26 May 10:00-12:00
- Derry (Whittaker Suite, Guildhall) – Tuesday 30 May 10:00-12:00
How to apply
Only businesses which are not Invest NI client businesses are eligible to take part in Ambition to Grow.
The application call for Ambition to Grow will open on Monday 22 May 2023, 12 noon and close Friday 16 June, 15:00.
Further information can be found in our Ambition to Grow | Guidance Notes and Ambition to Grow | FAQs.
The following businesses are not eligible to apply:
- Businesses already in receipt of or intending to gain other government support for the project.
- Businesses that have an outstanding liability to Invest NI brought about through grant clawback proceedings. If a satisfactory repayment plan is in place, the business may apply for consideration.
- Businesses or any member of Senior Management within the business that are subject to a current bankruptcy order, Individual Voluntary Arrangement, Company Voluntary Arrangement, County Court Judgement, or Company Director Disqualification.
- Businesses involved in agricultural production, fisheries, and aquaculture (production and processing), steel, coal, shipbuilding, synthetic fibres, transport and its infrastructure, energy (its generation, distribution and infrastructure) wholesale, retail (including on-line) & distribution.
- Applications which include or relate to activities that Invest Northern Ireland considers as ineligible or as involving an unacceptable reputational risk, such as gambling, tobacco products and drug-based products, which are not authorised as medicines.
Source: Invest NI
