Proof of Concept Grant Fund

On a competitive basis this fund seeks to support entrepreneurs based in Northern Ireland with grants directed towards exploring the viability and commercial potential of a novel and innovative concept.

The grant funding comes in the form of a “Concept” grant (of up to £15k) and a “Concept Plus” Grant (of up to £40k). These grants will be available throughout the year, to applicants across Northern Ireland.

In addition to the above grant application calls, Concept Grants will also be provided via 4 geographic specific application calls (i.e. Belfast, North, South and West ). At the time of each competition, applicants within the particular region will be eligible to apply.

Once per annum, Concept Plus Grants will also be provided through our Female Founders Grant Competition held in partnership with Women in Business NI.

Yes, up to the limit of £15k for a Concept Grant and up to the limit of £40k for a Concept Plus Grant.

The grants are paid in arrears; therefore, successful applicants will be reimbursed for appropriate expenditure upon submission of proof that the money has been spent in accordance with the Letter of Offer.

No – the PoC Fund supports both tech & non-tech ideas with no sectoral bias. Eligible concepts must be novel and innovative.

Criteria to apply for both grants -

• Applicants can apply as a Sole Trader, Partnership or Limited Company. Applications from Community Interest Companies and Social Enterprises will not be considered.
• You (i.e. Sole Trader, Partnership, Limited Company) must have an innovative/novel concept to prove.
• The principal applicant must be the founder, and if applying through a Limited Company then the Company then the principal applicant must be a Director and majority shareholder in the Limited Company.
• The principal applicant must be resident in Northern Ireland, and Limited Companies must be registered in Northern Ireland. (please note that Techstart may ask for copy of a recent utility bill for proof of address)
• If you are applying for some of the grant to cover the employment costs, then the application must be made by a Limited Company.
• For independent third-party costs, at application stage you must identify your proposed supplier. If your proposed supplier has provided you with a quotation, you should append it to your application form.
• Successful applicants will be required to provide formal quotations from the proposed Suppliers in advance of a Letter of Offer being issued.
• If applying as a Limited Company, up to 30% of the Grant awarded is available to cover the employment costs of the founders who will complete a portion of the work internally, with a set daily rate of £200. For such costs to be approved, your application must clearly detail what work will be done during the PoC project under these costs and what the output will be. Please note that Administration Time, Project Management Time and similar Overhead activities will not be eligible activities to be covered within employment costs.
• Applicants can have no more than two unsuccessful applications within the current Grant Fund period (2025-2030), irrespective of the entity applying or the concept applied for. If you have been unsuccessful previously and are unsure if you are eligible to reapply, please contact Techstart directly to check. (grants@techstart.vc)
• Applicants can only have one submission per application round.
• Applicants who have previously been awarded a Catalyst Co-Founders' Proof of Concept Grant cannot use the Techstart Grants to cover the same costs. Double-funding must not occur.
• University related companies are not eligible to apply for a Techstart Grant where the University has an ownership stake in the company and/or any associated IP.

Desirable Criteria for Concept Plus grants:

• Your approach to the concept will have a balance between technology/product development and market facing activities (customer discovery, further market validation etc.); and
• The stage of development of the concept will have greater emphasis on steps towards commercial exploitation/engagement with potential customers.

We recommend for all potential applicants to complete the Innovate NI Assessment, to discover where you are on their Innovation Framework and to start receiving free support & guidance. The Innovate NI Assessment scoring will not impact Techstart's view and decision on your proposal - https://www.innovateni.com/assessment

Please note that any applicants who are successful in being awarded a Techstart PoC Grant, will be required to complete the Innovate NI Assessment before being able to drawdown any of the grant money.

All closing dates are advertised on the Techstart Grants website (www.techstartgrants.com). Please be aware that all applications must be submitted by the 5pm deadline on each closing date otherwise it will not be considered.

To apply for a grant, you will be required to complete the online application form. Please visit our Application Portal to access and view the application form (click here). You must complete the form and submit it via the portal.

In addition to the application form and supporting quotes from suppliers, Techstart may request further information or documentation before a decision on your application is reached.

All of the above are eligible, however if you are applying for part of the grant to cover employment costs then you can only apply as a Limited Company.

Please note that if your application is successful, the grant will be awarded to the entity that applied for the grant. As the grant is paid in arrears, this will be the entity that will have to incur the costs before being reimbursed.

Grant Application Process -

● Application submitted by Closing Date;

● All eligible applicants will be invited to a short Pitch and Q&A session with Techstart on a selected date;

● Applications will be reviewed and scored by Techstart; and

● Final Decisions made by Techstart.

Successful applicants will be required to complete the Innovate NI Assessment before being able to drawdown any of the grant money.https://www.innovateni.com/assessment

We recommend for all potential applicants to complete the Innovate NI Assessment, to discover where you are on their Innovation Framework and to start receiving free support & guidance. The Innovate NI Assessment scoring will not impact Techstart's view and decision on your proposal.

Yes - however if you are applying for employment costs to be covered within the grant please note the following -

• The application must be made by a Limited Company, and not a Sole Trader or Partnership;
• You must clearly detail within the application form what work will be done during the PoC project under employment costs and what the output will be;
• Administration Time, Project Management time and similar activities will not be an eligible employment cost activity;
• There will be a cap on the amount of grant that can cover employment costs, which will be 30% of the grant awarded;
• There will be a set daily rate of £200;
• To drawdown the grant related to the employment costs the beneficiary will be able to claim up to 50% of the employment costs amount once they have reached half-way through the project and the remaining 50% of the employment costs will only be released at the end of the PoC project, once an end of PoC project meeting has taken place and Techstart are satisfied with the output; and
• To drawdown the grant for employment costs the beneficiary will submit self-certified timesheets. You will not have to pay yourself first.

Eligible activities for support include but are not limited to:

• Concept/Prototype Development;
• Market Research – i.e. Activities around further understanding and sizing of the addressable market, such as Focus Groups, Domain Expert Consultancy and/or Attendance to relevant Trade Shows;
• Market Validation – i.e. Costs associated with testing the concept with potential customers and end-users.
• Market Testing Activities – i.e. Expenditure incurred in testing the best way to take the product to market.
• Assessment of uniqueness of IP; and
• Employment costs where a clear output will be delivered.

Non-eligible activities include but are not limited to:

• Costs of Company Registration/legal incorporation;
• IP Protection costs including trademarks;
• Product Development activities beyond the core product;
• Marketing and costs of selling;
• Costs incurred before the award of the grant and outside of the agreed project timeframe;
• VAT - if you are VAT registered;
• Costs not directly connected with the project;
• Tablets, laptops or similar equipment;
• Trading stock/stock for resale;
• Rent/Office Space
• Administration time, project management time and similar overhead activities will not be eligible employment cost activities; and
• Subsistence (including food, taxis, trains, car hire, mileage).

Applicants can appoint an independent third-party supplier who they deem to be most suited to undertake the proposed work provided they are completely independent of the applicant/entity applying for the grant e.g. have no relationship or directorship in the company.

If your application is successful you will be notified via email and invited to a ‘briefing session’ to explain the process thereafter. Techstart will finalise an agreed plan of expenditure with you and clarify the claims process with you in advance of a Letter of Offer being issued.

Please note that successful applicants will be required to complete the Innovate NI Assessment before being able to drawdown any of the grant money. https://www.innovateni.com/assessment

Grant payments will be made in arrears on submission of a project report and evidence of expenditure, relative to the agreed project plan of expenditure. This includes invoices & receipts from your suppliers and a copy of the applicant's bank statement showing relevant payments. An ‘End of PoC Project’ meeting is required to take place before the final instalment of the grant is released.

If you have been awarded a portion of the grant for employment costs then you will be required to submit self-certified timesheets with a daily rate of up to £200. You can claim up to 50% of the employment costs amount at the halfway point of the project but the remaining 50% of the employment costs will only be released at the end of the PoC project once an End of PoC project meeting has taken place, and Techstart are satisfied with the output.

Further information on the claims process will be provided if your application is successful.

Please note that successful applicants will be required to complete the Innovate NI Assessment before being able to drawdown any of the grant money. https://www.innovateni.com/assessment

It is expected that submitted applications will be well thought through and considered. Activities and suppliers will be specified in detail at this stage, so it is considered unlikely that future changes will be necessary. In the unlikely event that a change is required, such proposed changes to the Project plan must be provided in writing and approved by Techstart in advance of the changes taking place, otherwise this will result in the grant becoming ineligible for payment.

Feedback calls are available for unsuccessful applicants.

Yes. Applicants can have no more than two unsuccessful applications, within the current Fund period (2025-2030), irrespective of the entity applying or the concept applied for. If you are unsure if you are eligible to reapply, please contact grants@techstart.vc

Techstart Ventures LLP is committed to protecting your privacy and respecting your confidentiality. The information you provide shall be used exclusively for the purposes of administration and evaluation in connection with our PoC programmes and may also be shared with Invest Northern Ireland. That Personal information is typically name, address, contact details and other basic information which is necessary for us to deal with your application. All data received shall be subject to GDPR and other applicable personal data protection regulations. Please note, however, that as public funds are the source of the PoC grants, we may be required to share relevant information which is the subject of a Freedom of Information request.

Any details that you give to us will be added to our database. We take all appropriate measures to protect your personal information; however, as any transfer of data over the internet is not completely secure we cannot guarantee the security of data transmitted to us over the internet.

If you would like to be on our mailing list (and specifically opt in to that when you complete your application), we will send you mailings which you have requested or we feel may interest you and/or are relevant to your business or activity. Such mailings may include details of our offerings and services (including, for example our investment activities and our PoC programmes) and newsletters.

When requested to do so, we will delete personal information from current operational systems where it is no longer required. We may need to continue to hold some details about you after your relationship with us has ended for legal and regulatory reasons.

Subject to meeting the relevant eligibility criteria, applicants may apply for both a Concept Grant and a Concept Plus Grant, but not at the same time.

No, companies who have received Techstart equity investment are not eligible to apply for a Proof of Concept Grant.

We are fortunate to have a diverse ecosystem here in Northern Ireland with plenty of support available for entrepreneurs. Please visit the ‘Signposting and Support’ section on our website where you will find a list of local places for support. Please also visit the ‘Resources’ section of our website where you will find a list of useful links, books, video etc, that we believe will help and educate you on your start-up journey.

You can reach the team at grants@techstart.vc

Alternatively, you can book a time to chat with one the team via this link