Business Innovation Grant
30th Jul 2026
About the Business Innovation Grant
BIG helps support sole traders, micro-businesses and SMEs in Northern Ireland to develop and bring their innovation activities to market with a grant of up to £20,000.
BIG is delivered by Invest Northern Ireland, in partnership with Innovate NI.
This project is part-funded by the UK government.
Funded by UK Government
How can my business benefit from the Business Innovation Grant?
BIG offers grant support ranging from £5,000 to £20,000 at a grant rate of 70% to help your business advance its innovative projects. You can use the financial support to develop, commercialise, and implement new or improved products, services, or processes.
Funding should be used for activities such as:
In market research (problem-solving or opportunity validation)
In market research (product, service or process idea validation)
ISO 56000 series Innovation Management Audit, including report production
Product or service market validation and testing
Minimal viable product (MVP) development with industry, including market testing
Process design and validation
Market entry planning (including analysis of costs for full product or service development and distribution or implementation)
Design of market entry strategy
Identification and establishing of manufacturing and supply chains outside Northern Ireland
New market development visits outside Northern Ireland
Attendance at trade fairs and exhibitions outside Northern Ireland
Product launches and demonstrations
Consultancy or sub-contracting to support further product development
In addition to receiving financial support, successful applicants will enter the Innovate NI programme where they can benefit from advice and guidance to progress along the innovation framework. Businesses will also receive recognition of their innovation achievement with an Innovation Recognition Certificate issued by Innovate NI on behalf of the Department for the Economy.
How to apply for the Business Innovation Grant
The Business Innovation Grant opens for applications on Monday 10 August until Friday 4 September 2026, 12 noon.
Who is eligible for the Business Innovation Grant?
To be eligible for BIG, businesses must meet the following criteria:
Be based in Northern Ireland
Operate in any sector except for primary agriculture, forestry, logging, fisheries, or aquaculture
Not be an Invest NI client or have received grant support from Invest NI in the last 5 years (excluding specific programmes such as Covid-19 emergency support, ERIG, Innovation Vouchers, or Access to Finance)
Have an innovative project that aligns with Innovate NI’s definition of innovation: “The development and implementation of a new or improved product, service, model, or process which is novel, significantly different, and has or will be either introduced to the market or implemented within the business to create value.”
Further information
For more information, see the following:
Guidance notes
FAQs
Innovation Framework
Core questions for Innovation Assessment
Sample assessment
Claims Guidance video
Additional resources
Innovation Workshops
Ready to turn your ideas into commercial success? We are running free innovation workshops to help you gain the strategies to drive growth in Autumn / Winter 2026 (dates & locations to be confirmed).
Why Attend?
Create a clear and realistic path to market and growth
Build a simple, scalable commercial offer structure
Get confident about value, margins and credibility
Identify commercial and scaling risks before growth
Develop a 30/60/90-day plan focused on realistic next steps
There will be limited spaces available, so book yours early!
Hub Packaging accelerates net-zero strategy through 100% locally generated renewable electricity supplied by 3T Power
30th Jul 2026
Read Article