DIT Internationalisation Fund

DIT Internationalisation Fund Grant available for
eligible businesses in England

Climate Action is partnering with The Department for International Trade (DIT) to provide SME grant funding to be involved in The Innovation Zone during COP27 in Egypt. Match-funded grants of between £1,000 and £9,000 are available for your Climate Action Innovation Zone presence (subject to eligibility and availability). This is a powerful example of the importance of public-private partnerships in addressing climate change.

Internationalisation Fund Grant:

The fund is currently available throughout England except in London. Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland have other assistance schemes.
Grants between £1,000 and £9,000 will be available for activity (subject to eligibility and availability of DIT funds).
To secure a grant, you’ll need to fund a proportion of your costs yourself. This varies according to where your business is based and will be either 40% or 50% of the total cost. For example, if your travel bill is £2,000, you can be reimbursed £1,000 or £1,200, depending on where you are in England. The grant you are eligible to receive must not be below £1,000.
You can apply to cover a proportion of your costs towards accommodation. When including this in your application, provide the dates and the event location (Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt).
You can apply to cover a proportion of your costs in participating in the Climate Action Innovation Zone, part-covering chalet or meeting room hire, sponsorship or exhibiting. Include this in your application; provide the dates (7-18 November 2022) and event location (Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt).
Registration costs may also be eligible dependent on the application. Whilst there is no entry fee to access The Innovation Zone, attendance fees are applicable for the Sustainability Innovation Forum and the Hydrogen Transition Summit.
The fund is aimed at companies who have products/services to deliver overseas or want to develop new markets or extend reach.
Only one claim per business and one application per company can be submitted. The application can cover multiple activities.
If your application is successful, you will need to provide evidence of attendance and any other relevant receipts, quotations and bank statements to be reimbursed by the scheme.
Activity cannot be supported retrospectively; you will need to apply for the scheme before you have spent any money.
VAT cannot be claimed and must be excluded from your costs.

Eligibility Criteria:

The company must be a small or medium-sized enterprise (SME) with up to 250 employees.
No more than 25% of the business is owned by an enterprise which is not an SME.
Annual turnover does not exceed €50 million, or the yearly balance sheet does not exceed €43 million.
Must be based in England (London fund is fully subscribed and not available).
Has not exceeded the thresholds of support from any public funds under State Aid, i.e. De Minimis or General Block Exemption Regulation (GBER).
Have a product or service suitable to export into a new market
Willing to undertake eligible activities as agreed with an International Trade Advisor (ITA) and outlined in an Export Action Plan.

To Apply for the Internationalisation Fund Grant

Contact your local DIT office to speak to an International Trade Adviser (ITA). Find your local trade office.
Your ITA will talk you through what you need to do and arrange for an online application link.
When completing the online application form as a backup, save a copy of your answers on a separate Word or Google document as you go. The application portal does allow you to save and exit.
The ITA will provide advice and support for your application if appropriate and develop an Export Action Plan with you.
The online application will take up to 1 hour.
The decision on all funding applications rests with the Fund Administrator. They are independent of DIT and the ITAs, Typically, a decision will be made within five working days, and often a business will receive notification of a decision within 38 hours.

Export Action Plan (EAP):

Your EAP will outline the growth opportunities and challenges for your business and is a mandatory requirement for your Internationalisation Fund Grant application. Your EAP will be discussed during your one-to-one meeting with your ITA, who will provide you with advice and help. We recommend you start drafting your EAP prior to meeting your ITA.

Download an EAP template.

Download the Internationalisation Fund Grant flyer.

The fund is supported by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).

Express your interest in the Internalisation Funding

To find out more and apply for the DIT’s Internationalisation Fund, please contact your local DIT office.