A FREE online event is being held to highlight the wealth of grant funding opportunities available for York businesses.

The York-based PAPI (Product and Process Innovation) project and Make It York have joined forces to offer advice on the wide range of funding and business support available to local businesses.

The online business funding roadshow is from 8am to 10am on June 10 and will be hosted on Zoom.

It will feature presentations from different support programmes, case studies from local businesses who have tapped into funding, and opportunities to network.

The event will also provide businesses with a single point of contact to enable them to access tailored support.

The roadshow is open to York-based small to medium-sized enterprises who employ under 250 people and who operate predominantly business to business.

Touchright Software, a York-based software company, successfully applied for a PAPI grant after attending a previous roadshow.

The company received £10,000 to help develop their new Android app.

Director Terry Lightfoot said: “Having the grant has made it easier to drive new growth within new sectors.”

An event organiser, Rachel Cullivan, a business development officer at PAPI, said: "This online event will provide businesses with the opportunity to network and discover the support they could receive. Having all the information in one place will allow them to find the programme which fits their business needs.”

To book your free place visit: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/online-event-business-funding-roadshow-for-york-based-businesses-tickets-151474814247

Grant funding programmes confirmed include:

PAPI: Fully-funded innovation workshops and 40 per cent grants (up to £20k) to buy equipment that helps create a new product or service and at least one new job.

Make It York: The Business team provides expert advice, support and guidance – whether you’re starting up, ready to grow or looking to relocate to York. The team connects businesses with ideas and support, funding and training, other businesses and opportunities for growth.

SparkFund: SparkFund is an innovation support and grants programme that will help you to improve or develop exciting new products, services or processes.

Biorenewables Development Centre: Pre-funded projects by professional scientists or business specialists, helping to commercialise products and processes that help drive the bio-economy.

Supply Chain Programme: Supporting the growth and expansion of manufacturing SMEs and SMEs operating in wider supply chains of manufacturing sector.

Digital Enterprise: Helping small and medium sized enterprises achieve digital transformation as they scale up and mature.

Ad:Venture: Fully-funded expert help to take your business from start-up to scale-up, supporting ambitious new and young businesses to reach their full potential.

Investment Readiness: This package of support will help your business to better understand the full range of finance options and products available.

Connecting Innovation: Provides SMEs with up to 12 hours of support (or more if required) with an innovation growth manager helping to develop your business.

KTN: Connecting innovators with new partners and new opportunities beyond their existing thinking – accelerating ambitious ideas into real-world solutions.

Innovate UK EDGE: We enable ambitious, innovative SMEs to accelerate their growth and achieve scale.

The Department for International Trade: Match-funded grants of between £1,000 and £9,000 are available for future activity.