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Local Landscape

Funding and business support in Sunderland

Open to businesses in Sunderland, including schemes for the wider region and the whole country.

Sunderland's page: people to ring, events nearby and what is only for Sunderland

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We will email you when new funding appears for a business in Sunderland, wanting to grow and become more productive. To get something different, change the filters above first.

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Or save these answers in a free business profile: your alert then follows them whenever you change them.

National schemes continued

Open to businesses across England or the UK, including Sunderland.

OpenSupport programmeUK-wide

Scale UK Connect

GOV.UK

A free, government-backed pilot programme offering tailored support, international visits to priority markets, peer-learning and investor connections. It is for ambitious, high-growth UK businesses at a specific stage of growth.

Amount
Free programme
Area
United KingdomLocal Landscape rating 8 out of 10
Check statusInvestmentUK-wide

Refugee Venture Fund

Refugee Venture Fund

A UK venture capital fund that invests in early-stage businesses started by entrepreneurs with lived experience of forced displacement. It offers a minority share, coaching and a place in its Showcase.

Amount
£25,000 to £100,000
Area
United KingdomLocal Landscape rating 6 out of 10
Check statusInvestmentUK-wide

UK Innovation & Science Seed Fund (UKI2S)

UKI2S

A national seed investment fund that invests in, funds and supports early-stage businesses and spinouts in defence and security, engineering biology, fusion, knowledge assets, partner innovation and space. It also offers ongoing support such as leadership coaching, further funding strategy and executive recruitment.

Amount
From £100,000
Area
United KingdomLocal Landscape rating 8 out of 10
Check statusSupport programmeUK-wide

Social Investment Business

Social Investment Business

Social Investment Business offers flexible funding and long-term support, including financial products and practical guidance, to help charities and social enterprises grow and diversify their income.

Area
United KingdomLocal Landscape rating 6 out of 10
Check statusSupport programmeUK-wide

School for Social Entrepreneurs

School for Social Entrepreneurs

The School for Social Entrepreneurs supports people with purpose through practical learning, Match Trading grants and expert support, to build confidence, skills and connections for social enterprises.

Area
United KingdomLocal Landscape rating 6 out of 10
OpenSupport programmeUK-wide

British Franchise Association

British Franchise Association

The British Franchise Association (BFA) offers support and guidance to people setting up a business through franchising, and to existing brands looking to grow by franchising to others.

Area
United KingdomLocal Landscape rating 8 out of 10
Check statusInvestmentUK-wide

Angel CoFund

ACF Investors

Co-invests equity alongside partner business angel syndicates in early-stage companies, with the lead angel and syndicate required to be new investors in the company. Investments are between £100,000 and £1 million.

Amount
£100,000 to £1,000,000
Area
United KingdomLocal Landscape rating 7 out of 10
Check statusSupport programmeUK-wide

Propel International

Health Innovation Yorkshire and Humber

An intensive programme for ambitious international healthtech companies looking to understand, navigate and access the UK healthcare market.

Area
United KingdomLocal Landscape rating 7 out of 10
Check statusSupport programmeUK-wide

The Productivity Programme (Be The Business)

Be the Business

A support programme for established small businesses moving into growth or change, providing an advisory board of experienced business figures, 1-to-1 mentoring, online peer sessions and assessment tools.

Area
United KingdomLocal Landscape rating 6 out of 10
OpenGrantEngland-wide

Fisheries and Seafood Scheme

Marine Management Organisation

Defra grant scheme for projects in England that support the seafood sector, such as fishing vessels, shore-based facilities, aquaculture, processing, marketing and environmental work. Open to businesses and other eligible bodies directly engaged in the sector.

Amount
Up to £750,000
Area
EnglandLocal Landscape rating 8 out of 10
Check statusSupport programmeUK-wide

Female Founder Fundamentals with Small Business Britain & Starling

Small Business Britain, Starling

A free six-week online programme for women starting or growing businesses, covering branding, finances and Making Tax Digital, AI for productivity, networking, growth and confidence.

Amount
Free
Area
United KingdomLocal Landscape rating 6 out of 10
OpenSupport programmeUK-wide

Commercialising Ideas - UK Space Industry

Satellite Applications Catapult

Business support from the Satellite Applications Catapult to help scalable businesses grow in the UK space industry, including expert advice, innovation services and growth opportunities.

Area
United KingdomLocal Landscape rating 7 out of 10
Check statusSupport programme

Space Agency Incubation Centre

European Space Agency (ESA)

A one-to-two year incubation programme for startups using space technology in any way, across sectors including agriculture, digital technology, energy and healthcare. The Incubation Centre accepts startups each year; the nearest location is Daresbury.

Area
Nearest location is Daresbury; the page does not say where applicants must be based.Local Landscape rating 7 out of 10
Check statusInvestmentUK-wide

Sovereign AI Fund

Sovereign AI

Britain's £500 million Sovereign AI Fund makes direct equity investments, typically between £1 million and £10 million, in UK AI start-ups from pre-seed to growth stage, and helps them reach public compute, R&D funding, talent and procurement.

Amount
£1,000,000 to £10,000,000
Area
United KingdomLocal Landscape rating 7 out of 10
Check statusSupport programmeUK-wide

Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses

Goldman Sachs, Saïd Business School, University of Oxford

High-quality business education and support for leaders of high-growth small businesses and social enterprises, delivered over 100 hours with mentoring, peer learning and networking.

Amount
Fully funded
Deadline
Check application dates on the Goldman Sachs website
Area
United KingdomLocal Landscape rating 8 out of 10
OpenAcceleratorUK-wide

Port of Tyne Venture Connect

Port of Tyne

An accelerator programme supporting innovative businesses in maritime, logistics, clean energy and related sectors with mentoring, investor access and business development support.

Deadline
Dates for future cohorts will be announced in due course
Area
United KingdomLocal Landscape rating 8 out of 10
Opening soonGrantUK-wide

Demonstrate

Advanced Propulsion Centre UK

R&D funding to build a product or process demonstrator in under 12 months.

Amount
£500,000 to £1,500,000
Deadline
Applications open 13 January
Area
United KingdomLocal Landscape rating 8 out of 10
OpenGrantNational

Youth Jobs Grant

Department for Work and Pensions

The Youth Jobs Grant is part of the Youth Guarantee and provides financial support to employers to encourage the recruitment of young people who may otherwise find it difficult to enter the labour market. It is intended to complement, not replace, existing recruitment activity.

Amount
Up to £3,000
Deadline
The scheme is available across Great Britain and opened for applications from 30 June 2026.
Area
England, Scotland, WalesLocal Landscape rating 10 out of 10
OpenGrantUK-wide

Life Sciences Transformational R&D Investment Fund (TRIF) Pilot

Department for Science, Innovation and Technology

The Life Sciences Transformational R&D Investment Fund Pilot offers capital grants to support large-scale R&D projects in the UK life sciences sector (eligible projects must exceed £100 million in total costs).

Amount
Up to £25,000,000
Deadline
Listed on Find a grant until 2028-03-31
Area
United KingdomLocal Landscape rating 9 out of 10
Check statusGrantEngland-wide

Electric Car Grant

Department for Transport

The Electric Car Grant will support the industry and drivers by reducing the prices of new, eligible EVs priced at or under £37,000.

Amount
£1,500 to £3,750
Deadline
Listed on Find a grant until 2030-03-31
Area
EnglandLocal Landscape rating 8 out of 10
OpenGrantUK-wide

UK Global Screen Fund: International Business Development

British Film Institute (BFI)

Supporting UK screen content businesses across film, TV, animation and interactive narrative video games to enhance their international activities.

Amount
Up to £100,000
Deadline
Listed on Find a grant until 2029-03-31
Area
United KingdomLocal Landscape rating 9 out of 10
OpenInvestmentUK-wide

Big Issue Invest - UK

Big Issue Invest

Big Issue Invest helps social enterprises and charities by providing loans and investments.

Amount
£20,000 to £4,000,000
Area
United KingdomLocal Landscape rating 9 out of 10
OpenGrantUK-wide

Innovate UK - grant funding, innovation loans and expert support

Supports innovative UK businesses to realise the potential of new technologies, develop ideas and make them a commercial success.

Amount
£25,000 to £10,000,000
Deadline
No single deadline. Innovate UK runs separate funding competitions through the Innovation Funding Service, each with its own opening and closing dates (e.g. Frontier AI: SME Champions, Phase 1 opened 1 October 2026 and closes 11 November 2026; Efficient, Structured and Controllable AI Systems opens 12 October 2026 and closes 18 November 2026).
Area
United KingdomLocal Landscape rating 9 out of 10

Email me more like this

We will email you when new funding appears for a business in Sunderland, wanting to grow and become more productive.

How often

We send nothing else, and every email has a link to stop. How we use your address

Or save these answers in a free business profile: your alert then follows them whenever you change them.