Perth and Kinross Council offers Micro Enterprise Fund to support businesses with ten or fewer employees (including sole traders, constituted community groups, social/community enterprises and co-operatives) who are looking to expand and grow their business or individuals looking to set up a business.

The fund will offer each eligible business / individual a one-off grant of up to £1,000 covering up to 90% of eligible costs of viable projects.

You must be able to demonstrate the project is essential to ongoing business growth and that it will have a positive economic impact on the local area. Examples of viable projects:

• Purchase of capital equipment (excluding vehicles) for the purposes of expansion
• Acquisition or improvement of commercial property for the purposes of expansion
• Development of e-commerce platforms or digital transformation activities
• Specialist consultancy support
• Targeted marketing in relation to new markets
• As leverage for co-finance to secure additional investment through debt or asset finance etc

The fund cannot be used for working capital, including the payment of rent, or for statutory fees such as planning permission or a building warrant.

The fund will not be granted upfront immediately after approval – instead, you will receive payment after you make your purchases and submit receipts or invoices. This means that you must be able to afford the project’s full cost initially until you are refunded.

Timescale

After you submit your application, an officer will respond to you within 14 working days.

Once your application is accepted, you will have 6 months from the date of your funding offer to complete your project and submit the invoices.

A monitoring report must be submitted 12 months after the grant payment.

If your business ceases trading or moves outside the Perth and Kinross area within 3 years of receiving the grant, you may be required to fully repay the fund granted.

Application

Please ensure you have a minimum of two quotes available to upload. Note: Perth & Kinross Council reserves the right to restrict grant funding to 90% maximum of the lowest quote.

The Council will review your request and if successful, you can arrange for the project to commence.

The full cost of the project must be met by the applicant and the grant will be paid retrospectively and on receipt of paid invoices.

Apply for the funding online here!