North East Growth Hub - COVID Recovery Grants
At HiThrive, we are committed to helping and supporting small businesses during this challenging time. We’ll continue to update this blog as and when funding becomes. This article was first published on August 7, 2020.
SME Restart and Recovery Grants
The North East LEP region (County Durham, Gateshead, Newcastle, North Tyneside, Northumberland, South Tyneside and Sunderland) has been awarded approximately £2.4millon of ERDF funding to support regional small to medium-sized enterprises to recover from COVID-19.
Eligible SMEs in Durham deemed to have been directly impacted by the coronavirus pandemic - will be able to apply for grants of between £1,000 and £3,000.
The funds can be used to access external expertise or consultancy support that will help the business to respond to the impact of COVID-19 and can include marketing, operations, HR, finance, health and safety and strategic planning. Examples of such support from HiThrive include Strategy Development, Change Management, Product/Service diversification, Process improvement systems, Financial management, and opening new markets.
The grant rate is 100%, but businesses will have to make full payment for the support or purchase and claim the grant back. The VAT element of any support or purchase is not eligible for grant support.
How to apply
Expressions of Interest from Durham-based businesses can be submitted from 10am on Tuesday 17-November by visiting the North East Growth Hub’s website ↗
The Expression of Interest window for Durham-based businesses will close at midnight on Wednesday 18 November. The access these funding offers you need to use the link provided above. Businesses will need to complete an Expression of Interest, have a review meeting with a Growth Hub Connector and then, if appropriate, complete a Funding Application.
Demand will be very high for these grant offers, and the funds are expected to be fully allocated quickly.
HiThrive offers a wide range of one-to-one business consultancy services to small and medium-sized businesses. Contact us today and speak to a member of the team to find out how we can help your business.
