Open Competition for Innovation Loans: West Midlands Briefing

The Priory Rooms Meeting & Conference Centre, Bull Street, Birmingham, UK
9:30am to 2:00pm 9th May

Find out about the open innovation loans competition, the scope and how to apply here.


Innovate UK and the Knowledge Transfer Network are hosting a briefing event for Innovate UK’s new Open innovation loans competition, which is currently open for application.

Innovate UK is running a pilot programme of loan competitions over 2 years to the end of 2019. A total of up to £50 million is available for business innovation projects. Innovate UK is working to broaden the range of innovation finance support available to businesses, so they can access funding at all stages of innovation. Innovation loans are for UK small or medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that want to scale up and grow through innovation, developing new or improved products, processes or services. They can be used for late-stage research and development (R&D) projects, which have not yet reached the point of commercialisation.

Innovate UK is to offer up to £10 million in loans to SMEs for innovative late stage projects.  The aim of this competition is to provide loans to help SMEs to undertake game-changing innovations with strong commercial potential across any sector or industry.  Innovation loans will offer affordable, patient, flexible, repayable funding for later-stage research & development projects with a clear route to commercial success.  More information can be found here.

The deadline for registration for the competition is 6 June and the application deadline is noon on 13 June 2018. We expect to run two further Open competitions for innovation loans during the course of this year.

The purpose of the briefing event is to provide vital information to enable businesses to decide if an innovation loan is appropriate for them and, if so, to develop a clear and compelling application that shows that they have an innovative project and are suitable for a loan.


Agenda

09:30 – Coffee & Registration

10:00 – Welcome & Introduction

10:05 – Innovate UK and innovation loans overview

10:20 – Competition scope and Q&A

11:30 – How to complete Application Part A on your project

12:00 – How to complete Application Part B on your business

12:45 – Q&A

13:00 – Networking lunch

14:00 – Close


If you are unable to attend this event, there will also be similar events across the UK between 30th April and 10th May, as well as a webinar. Click here to see these other briefing events.