SWEF - enterprise and business grants

SWEF has been created to support young entrepreneurs (aged 18-30) to invest in their business venture and/or support them to take their business to the next level.

The priority for this fund is to support those with less advantage in their early life, who face barriers to investing in their business and who may not be able to generate funding from other sources.

SWEF – enterprise and business grants

Applications for this grant are closed

The Fund will reopen on Monday 3 February at 12pm.

Who is eligible to apply?

Applications must demonstrate a financial need for the grant. A business must be an applicant’s sole work focus or the plan is that it will become so shortly.

Applications need to explain how a grant will transform the business and take it to the next stage.

Individuals aged 18-30 who:

  • Are resident in and have a business operating in Wales,
  • Have been operating their business for no more than 2 years OR are in the development/ pilot stage, have carried out market research and expect to start trading imminently,
  • Are registered as a Sole Trader or a Limited Company. If registered as an Partnership the lead partner needs to be aged 18-30,
  • Own 100% of the business or are a majority shareholder,
  • Work or plan to work full-time on the business,
  • Must have a business bank account or be in the process of setting up a business bank account,
  • Applications for ‘business ideas’ will not be considered. Applicants must be able to give evidence of significant steps taken to get your business off the ground.

What can the grants be used for?

Funding is available to support a broad range of business costs, providing that applicants can demonstrate how the expenditure will support the growth of their business.

Businesses who have been operating and have generated income can apply for grants up £2,000. Start-up businesses (pre-revenue stage, or within a month or two of starting to trade) are only eligible for smaller grant amounts, up to £500.

A business must be an applicant’s sole work focus or have a clear plan on how the business will be their sole focus in the coming months.

For example, grants could be given for:

  • Equipment to increase production or to make production more efficient.
  • Equipment that will help diversity revenue where there is proven demand.
  • Materials/stock for a new product line.
  • Product development.
  • Prototypes (not App development costs).
  • Training.
  • Building a website and booking system.

Funding cannot be used for:

  • Unethical, illegal or immoral business practices or activity (including but not limited to:
    gambling; armaments/weaponry; tobacco/vaping products; pornography; depictions or
    acts of violence against people or animals; discriminatory/abusive behaviour or activity);
  • Activities promoting a particular religious or political belief;
  • Overseas travel;
  • Any activity which is a statutory responsibility of a public body;
  • Salaries;
  • Rent and utilities;
  • Debt repayment;
  • Stock for an existing product line;
  • Ongoing software subscriptions;
  • New computers, phones, and tablets (secondhand only).
  • Software/App development;
  • Equipment or products relating to invasive beauty treatments

Please read the SWEF criteria before applying:

What happens after I have submitted my application?

Initial assessment

We will check your application and eligibility. If we have any questions we will contact, you via email.

Meeting

We may invite you to a meeting where you will be able to tell us more about your business. The meeting will usually take place online with two people, a member of staff from Community Foundation Wales and someone from the SWEF. We aim to make a final decision on your application within six weeks.

Award

If you are awarded a grant you will be asked to accept the terms and conditions of the award and the grant will be paid directly to you by BACS. We can only pay grants into a business bank account that matches the business name in your application, so if you don’t have a business bank account yet you will be asked to set one up. You will receive payment of the grant within 10 working days from the terms and conditions being accepted There is an expectation that the grant should be spent within one month of receipt.

After the award

We will contact you 12 months after you received the grant to find out how your business is progressing. You will also have the opportunity to take part in a business forum with other businesses that have been awarded a grant. The forum offers a space to share, exchange ideas, experiences and learn.