Pathways to Funding
Growing inclusive funding opportunities for business
Finance & funding
Start-up
Trading business
Newcastle upon Tyne
North Tyneside
Northumberland
Finance
Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund II – Equity Finance
As part of the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund II Maven are offering Equity finance up to £5 million for ambitious businesses located across the North East of England.
Finance & funding
Equity
Start-up
Trading business
Newcastle upon Tyne
Sunderland
County Durham
Gateshead
South Tyneside
North Tyneside
Northumberland
Finance
Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund II – Debt Finance
As part of the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund II NEL are offering Debt Finance from £100,000 to £2m
Finance & funding
Loan
Trading business
Newcastle upon Tyne
Sunderland
County Durham
Gateshead
South Tyneside
North Tyneside
Northumberland
Finance
Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund II – Smaller Loans
As part of the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund II NEL are offering Smaller Loans from £25,000 to £100,000
Finance & funding
Loan
Start-up
Trading business
Newcastle upon Tyne
Sunderland
County Durham
Gateshead
South Tyneside
North Tyneside
Northumberland
Finance
Innovate UK innovation loans future economy
UK registered businesses can apply for loans for innovative projects with strong commercial potential to significantly improve the UK economy.
Finance & funding
Loan
Trading business
Newcastle upon Tyne
Sunderland
County Durham
Gateshead
South Tyneside
North Tyneside
Northumberland
Leadership
Wear Together Initiative
Wear Together provides social entrepreneurs in Sunderland with access to business support and grants assisting them with start, development, and growth of social businesses.
Finance & funding
Grant
Business support
Start-up
Trading business
Sunderland
Finance
Operations
Grants for Women in Engineering 2024
Are you a female leader of an enterprise within UK engineering? Are you looking for funding to take your organisation to the next level? If so, this grant could be for you.
Finance & funding
Grant
Newcastle upon Tyne
Sunderland
County Durham
Gateshead
South Tyneside
North Tyneside
Northumberland
Finance
AXA Startup Angel
Helping entrepreneurs make their business dreams a reality. Win £25,000 startup funding to kick-start your business.
Finance & funding
Grant
Business support
Start-up
Newcastle upon Tyne
Sunderland
County Durham
Gateshead
South Tyneside
North Tyneside
Northumberland
Finance
Gateshead Startup Skills
Delivered by Smarta, Gateshead Startup Skills is all about ensuring startups, sole traders and freelancers in Gateshead get off to the best start with the right skills.
Finance & funding
Grant
Business support
Start-up
Gateshead
People and skills
Enterprising Sunderland
Enterprising Sunderland is a project designed to unlock the potential of future entrepreneurs within our communities and to support businesses from all sectors to grow and innovate.
Finance & funding
Grant
Business support
Start-up
Sunderland
Finance
Leadership
South Tyneside Business Growth Grant Scheme
The grant fund will support inward investment and the growth of companies in South Tyneside.
Finance & funding
Grant
South Tyneside
Finance
Crowdfund North of Tyne
Crowdfund North of Tyne gives local people and communities the opportunity to create and fund projects which celebrate and improve our local area
Finance & funding
Newcastle upon Tyne
North Tyneside
Northumberland
Finance
Durham County Council Retail Start Up Grant
The new Start Up Support Programme is available to new retail, hospitality and leisure businesses across County Durham
Finance & funding
Grant
Start-up
County Durham
Finance
Business Growth Fund
Support for businesses looking to expand or establish new operations in Gateshead Metropolitan Borough Council, North Of Tyne Combined Authority, Sunderland City Council.
Finance & funding
Equity
Trading business
Newcastle upon Tyne
Sunderland
Gateshead
North Tyneside
Northumberland
Finance
Grant Investment Fund
Eligible businesses in Northumberland can apply for a grant between £10,000 - £300,000.
Finance & funding
Grant
Northumberland
Finance
Creative Enterprise Business Builder
The Creative Enterprise Business Builder is a grant initiative designed to support companies who work in moving image for storytelling, spanning film television, games, animation and immersive industries.
Finance & funding
Grant
Business support
Newcastle upon Tyne
Sunderland
County Durham
Gateshead
South Tyneside
North Tyneside
Northumberland
Leadership
Products and services
North East Innovation Fund
Funding for early-stage businesses with innovative, scalable ideas – from software to life science, start-up to scale-up.
Finance & funding
Start-up
Trading business
Newcastle upon Tyne
Sunderland
County Durham
Becoming Net Zero
Gigabit Voucher Scheme
Through this scheme SMEs can claim up to £3,000 against the cost of full fibre connection, either individually or as part of a group project.
Finance & funding
Trading business
Newcastle upon Tyne
Sunderland
County Durham
Gateshead
South Tyneside
North Tyneside
Northumberland
The UK Games Fund (UKGF) Content Fund
Creative developers and start-up studios are invited to bid for a share of £5 million in government funding to turn their new video game ideas into market leaders.
Finance & funding
Grant
Trading business
Markets
Products and services
Operations
Workplace Charging Scheme
Government support towards the up-front costs of the purchase and installation of electric vehicle chargepoints.
Finance & funding
Grant
Trading business
Newcastle upon Tyne
Sunderland
County Durham
Becoming Net Zero
Gateshead
South Tyneside
North Tyneside
Northumberland
UnLtd - Awards
Grants plus business support are available to social entrepreneurs that are looking to start or grow an existing social venture.
Finance & funding
Equity
Start-up
Trading business
Newcastle upon Tyne
Sunderland
County Durham
Gateshead
South Tyneside
North Tyneside
Northumberland
Start Up Loans for businesses 0-36 months
Funding loans of up to £25,000 available to entrepreneurs within their first 3 years of trading, with potential top up loans within years 3-5 of trading.
Finance & funding
Loan
Start-up
Finance
Open North Foundation
Open North Foundation is a not for profit company dedicated to assisting the businesses and people of the North East to recover from the ravages of COVID-19.
Finance & funding
Trading business
Northern Accelerator
Northern Accelerator is an exciting collaboration between the North East’s universities, creating real-world impact from world-leading research, commercialising innovation and boosting the region’s economy.
Finance & funding
Business support
Start-up
Trading business
Products and services
North of Tyne Culture and Creative Investment - Loans
Through the North of Tyne Culture and Creative Investment Programme, funded by the North of Tyne Combined Authority, Creative UK are investing £1.5m in loans in the North of Tyne’s cultural and creative industries.
Finance & funding
Loan
Start-up
Trading business
Newcastle upon Tyne
North Tyneside
Northumberland
Finance
North of Tyne Culture and Creative Investment - Equity
Through the North of Tyne Culture and Creative Investment Programme, funded by the North of Tyne Combined Authority, Creative UK are investing £625k of equity finance in the North of Tyne’s cultural and creative industries.
Finance & funding
Equity
Start-up
Trading business
Newcastle upon Tyne
North Tyneside
Northumberland
Finance
North East Venture Fund
Funding for companies which address a clear market need and have the potential to achieve significant growth.
Finance & funding
Equity
Trading business
Newcastle upon Tyne
Sunderland
County Durham
Gateshead
South Tyneside
North Tyneside
Northumberland
North East Social Investment Fund
A unique equity fund providing impact investments to north east charities and social enterprises ranging from £100,000 to £1 million for a wide range of purposes.
Finance & funding
Equity
Trading business
Newcastle upon Tyne
Sunderland
County Durham
Gateshead
South Tyneside
North Tyneside
Northumberland
Operations
North East Property Fund
A £10 million fund offering development funding to SME house builders, construction and property development companies
Finance & funding
Loan
Trading business
Newcastle upon Tyne
Sunderland
County Durham
Gateshead
South Tyneside
North Tyneside
Northumberland
Made Smarter Adoption North East
Made Smarter Adoption North East helps manufacturers in the region increase profits, improve efficiency and grow by investing in smart technology.
Finance & funding
Grant
Business support
Trading business
Newcastle upon Tyne
Sunderland
County Durham
Gateshead
South Tyneside
North Tyneside
Northumberland
County Durham Productivity and Growth Programme
The Productivity and Growth Programme supports businesses in all sectors in County Durham.
Finance & funding
Business support
Start-up
Trading business
County Durham
Social Enterprise Boost
Boost your skills and get the knowledge you need to start a social enterprise in this exciting new programme.
Finance & funding
Grant
Business support
Start-up
Trading business
Sunderland
South Tyneside
Operations
The North East Commercial Property Investment Fund
A £35 million commercial property fund that supports developers in the North East.
Finance & funding
Trading business
Newcastle upon Tyne
Sunderland
County Durham
Gateshead
South Tyneside
North Tyneside
Northumberland
Operations
Key Fund
Are you buying premises? Looking to grow? Wanting to launch a great business idea? The Key Fund has £4.5million to invest.
Finance & funding
Grant
Loan
Trading business
Newcastle upon Tyne
Sunderland
County Durham
Gateshead
South Tyneside
North Tyneside
Northumberland
Operations
Ignite North East
Ignite is an early-stage accelerator programme for start-ups with high-scaling potential (usually tech)
Finance & funding
Start-up
Trading business
Newcastle upon Tyne
North Tyneside
Northumberland
North East Growth Capital Fund
The Growth Capital Fund provides between £100,000 and £500,000 of unsecured investment to ambitious companies which need additional finance to boost growth or to consolidate their market position.
Finance & funding
Loan
Trading business
Newcastle upon Tyne
Sunderland
County Durham
Gateshead
South Tyneside
North Tyneside
Northumberland
Finance
Finance Durham
Debt and equity finance for businesses based in or looking to relocate to County Durham.
Finance & funding
Start-up
Trading business
County Durham
Finance
Defence and Security Accelerator
The Defence and Security Accelerator (DASA) finds and funds exploitable innovation to support UK defence and security quickly and effectively, and support UK prosperity.
Finance & funding
Trading business
Newcastle upon Tyne
Sunderland
County Durham
Gateshead
South Tyneside
North Tyneside
Northumberland
Markets
Products and services
Operations
North East Screen
Funded by North East Screen Industries Partnership, North East Screen is a regional screen agency for filmmakers, producers and creative professionals looking to start and grow their careers in the industry.
Finance & funding
Business support
Trading business
Newcastle upon Tyne
Sunderland
County Durham
Gateshead
South Tyneside
North Tyneside
Northumberland
People and skills
Operations
CITB Skills and Training Fund
Finance & funding
Grant
Business support
Trading business
Newcastle upon Tyne
Sunderland
County Durham
Gateshead
South Tyneside
North Tyneside
Northumberland
Leadership
People and skills
Northumberland Small Business Service
A service of business support to help small and micro businesses across Northumberland to start and grow.
Finance & funding
Business support
Start-up
Trading business
Northumberland
UKSE Business Loans and Investments
Working with UKSE gives you more than just finance. Benefit from the support and knowledge of people who have been there before.
Finance & funding
Loan
Trading business
Newcastle upon Tyne
Sunderland
County Durham
Gateshead
South Tyneside
North Tyneside
Northumberland
Business Energy Saving Team (BEST)
Save energy and money with free energy guidance and support from BEST
Finance & funding
Grant
Trading business
Newcastle upon Tyne
Becoming Net Zero
North Tyneside
Northumberland
BREEZ - Business Renewables Energy Efficiency Sunderland
Sunderland City Council offers eligible SMEs a flexible approach to cutting their energy bills and their carbon emissions.
Finance & funding
Business support
Trading business
Sunderland
Becoming Net Zero
Durham County Council – Business Support
Durham County Council offers a wide range of services to help businesses to accelerate their growth and support their long-term sustainability.
Finance & funding
Business support
Start-up
Trading business
County Durham
Operations
Invest South Tyneside
South Tyneside is a buzzing, vibrant place to start and grow a business with lots of support available to help businesses thrive.
Finance & funding
Business support
Start-up
Trading business
South Tyneside
People and skills
Operations
Sunderland City Council – Business Support
Sunderland City Council has a range of services available to support businesses.
Finance & funding
Business support
Trading business
Sunderland
North of Tyne Inward Investment Fund
The North of Tyne Combined Authority has £10m available to support businesses looking to invest and create jobs in the North of Tyne.
Finance & funding
Trading business
Newcastle upon Tyne
North Tyneside
Northumberland
Green New Deal Fund (GNDF)
The Green New Deal Fund (GNDF) is an investment fund established by the North of Tyne Combined Authority (NTCA) to provide finance to SMEs and the public sector to reduce carbon emissions, create green jobs and develop skills in the region.
Finance & funding
Start-up
Trading business
Newcastle upon Tyne
Becoming Net Zero
North Tyneside
Northumberland
Finance
Operations
Innovation SuperNetwork
The Innovation SuperNetwork’s specialist business support gives North East businesses direct access to new market opportunities, finance and sector expertise.
Finance & funding
Business support
Start-up
Trading business
Newcastle upon Tyne
Sunderland
County Durham
Gateshead
South Tyneside
North Tyneside
Northumberland
Finance
Markets
Products and services
North East Enterprise Agency
North East Enterprise Agency is a unique collaboration of multi-award winning enterprise agencies supporting businesses across the North East of England.
Finance & funding
Business support
Start-up
Trading business
Newcastle upon Tyne
Sunderland
County Durham
Gateshead
South Tyneside
North Tyneside
Northumberland
Finance
Business Gateshead
The Business Gateshead team works for everyone in Gateshead including businesses of all sizes, start-ups, their employees and people looking to get back into work.
Finance & funding
Business support
Start-up
Trading business
Gateshead
People and skills
Newcastle City Council – Business Support
Find all the services that Newcastle City Council and its partners offer to help businesses start, develop and thrive in the city.
Finance & funding
Business support
Start-up
Trading business
Newcastle upon Tyne
Northumberland County Council – Business Support
Visit Northumberland County Council business page for information about business rates, grants & funding, licenses and permits and legislation.
Finance & funding
Business support
Trading business
Northumberland