Grants for Sole Traders

Sole traders are eligible for fewer grants than limited companies, but several programmes target freelancers and self-employed individuals. Local Growth Hubs, New Enterprise Allowance successors, and some Innovate UK programmes accept sole trader applications.

There are currently 17 live grants available for sole traders in the UK, with deadlines ranging from 27 May 2026 to 30 September 2030.

ADOPT facilitator support grant: round 7

Innovate UK

Closing in 7 days
Up to £100,000Agriculture, Forestry & Fishing

This grant gives farming, growing or forestry businesses in England £2,500 to hire an external Project Facilitator. The facilitator helps you develop a full ADOPT grant application. You must be an est

Business Support for Scotland

Scottish Government

Closing in 1595 days
Up to £10,000,000Charities & Non-Profit

This is not a single grant but a website that lists business support available in Scotland. FindBusinessSupport.gov.scot brings together grants, loans, and advice from over 100 Scottish public organis

BFI NETWORK

BFI

Ongoing
Arts, Entertainment & Recreation

BFI NETWORK provides funding to help new filmmakers start their careers. The programme offers both development and production funding for emerging talent in the film industry. This is a rolling progra

Electric van loan for businesses

Energy Saving Trust

Ongoing
Transport & Storage

The Energy Saving Trust offers interest-free loans to help businesses buy electric vans for commercial use. You can borrow money without paying any interest charges. The loan is designed to make elect

Cardiff Hackney Emissions Reduction Grant Scheme

Cardiff Council

Ongoing
Transport & Storage

Cardiff Council offers grants to help hackney carriage operators reduce vehicle emissions. The scheme supports taxi drivers in Cardiff who want to make their vehicles cleaner. You can use the money to

Get personalised grant alerts

Create a free account to get notified when new grants for sole traders open.

Create free account

Apprenticeship Grants

CITB

Ongoing
Construction, Education

CITB provides grants to construction employers for approved apprenticeship training programmes. The grants are available in England, Wales and Scotland. This funding is part of the CITB Grants Scheme.

Qualification Grants

CITB

Ongoing
Construction

CITB offers grants to help construction employers pay for their workers' qualifications and training. The grants cover both short courses and longer qualifications in the construction sector. This is

Rural Business Growth Service

Northumberland County Council

Ongoing
Agriculture, Forestry & Fishing, Manufacturing, Wholesale & Retail Trade, Hospitality & Food Service, Other Services

The Rural Business Growth Service supports rural businesses in Northumberland that want to grow. The service helps you develop and implement business growth plans. It aims to create more diverse busin

CITB Grants - Qualification Grants

CITB

Ongoing
Construction

CITB provides grants to help construction employers pay for qualification training. The funding covers both short and long qualifications for your workforce. You must be a construction employer regist

Full ADOPT Grant: Round 6

Innovate UK

Ongoing

This grant gives farming, growing or forestry businesses in England up to £100,000 for on-farm trials and experiments. You can test new ideas or solutions that improve productivity, sustainability or

ADOPT Facilitator Support Grant: round 8

Innovate UK

Ongoing
Agriculture, Forestry & Fishing

Farming, growing or forestry businesses in England can get £2,500 to hire an external Project Facilitator. This person will help you develop a Full ADOPT Grant application. The grant is part of round

Contracts for Innovation: industrial human relevant drug models

Innovate UK

Ongoing
Up to £2,000,000Health & Social Work

This grant helps businesses develop alternatives to animal testing for new medicines. You can get up to £200,000 to create methods that test how drugs work in the human body. The focus is on testing d

Destination Net Zero Electric Vehicle Charge Point Tourism Recovery Fund

Energy Saving Trust

Ongoing
Energy & Utilities, Transport & Storage, Hospitality & Food Service

This fund helps tourism businesses in Scotland install electric vehicle charging points. The funding supports tourism businesses to provide EV charging facilities for their visitors and customers. Tou

Short Course Grants

CITB

Ongoing
Construction

CITB offers grants to help construction employers pay for short training courses. This includes plant operator tests and other day-to-day training needs. The grants are part of the wider CITB Grants S

Energy catalyst round 11 – mid stage

Innovate UK

Ongoing

This grant funds clean energy projects that improve energy access in sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, Indo-Pacific region and Latin America. You can get between £50,000 and £1.5 million for projects la

Advancing innovation in drug and alcohol addiction healthcare

Innovate UK

Ongoing
Health & Social Work

This grant offers up to £20 million to develop new treatments for drug and alcohol addiction. You can get funding for pharmaceutical drugs, medical devices, or digital health tools. Projects must be b

Support for start-ups with export potential

Invest Northern Ireland

Ongoing

Invest Northern Ireland offers support for start-up businesses that have potential to export their products or services. This funding is available to new businesses based in Northern Ireland. The gran