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 37 live grants available for sole traders in the UK, with deadlines ranging from 2 July 2026 to 30 September 2030.

Tobacco and Vapes Implementation Grant

Department of Health and Social Care

Closing in 3 days
£1,000 – £450,000Health & Social Work, Charities & Non-Profit

This grant from the Department of Health and Social Care supports work related to the Tobacco and Vapes Act and smoking cessation programmes. You can apply for between £1,000 and £450,000. The grant c

ADOPT Facilitator Support Grant: Round 9

Innovate UK Business Connect

Closing in 9 days
Agriculture, Forestry & Fishing

Farming, growing or forestry businesses in England can apply for £2,500 to hire an external Project Facilitator. This grant helps you develop a Full ADOPT Grant application. The money pays for profess

ADOPT Facilitator Support Grant: round 8

Innovate UK

Closing in 9 days
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

ADOPT Facilitator Support Grant: Round 9

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra)

Closing in 9 days
£2,499 – £2,500Agriculture, Forestry & Fishing

Farming, growing or forestry businesses in England can apply for £2,500 to hire an external Project Facilitator. This grant helps you develop a Full ADOPT Grant application. The funding is a fixed amo

Tree Production Capital Grant

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs via the Forestry Commission

Closing in 10 days
£5,000 – £175,000Public Administration & Defence, Charities & Non-Profit

The Tree Production Capital Grant helps tree nurseries and seed suppliers improve their operations. You can get between £5,000 and £175,000 to invest in equipment, automation, or expansion projects. T

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Decarbonising operational fleet and tools for gas network operations

Innovate UK Business Connect

Closing in 29 days
Energy & Utilities

Cadent Gas Ltd wants new ideas for low or zero emission vehicles and tools. They are looking to replace diesel-powered fleet vehicles used in gas network operations. This is a chance to pitch innovati

Clean Transport Accelerator: Maritime 2026

Innovate UK Business Connect

Closing in 29 days
Energy & Utilities, Transport & Storage

This six-month programme supports small businesses developing new solutions to cut carbon emissions in the maritime sector. Up to six companies will be selected. Each selected business gets tailored c

Full ADOPT Grant: Round 8

Innovate UK Business Connect

Closing in 30 days
Agriculture, Forestry & Fishing

Farming, growing or forestry businesses in England can apply for a share of £5 million. The money funds on-farm trial and demonstration projects. These projects must help improve adoption of new ideas

Full ADOPT Grant: Round 8

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra)

Closing in 30 days
£50,000 – £200,000Agriculture, Forestry & Fishing

Farming, growing or forestry businesses in England can apply for grants between £50,000 and £200,000. The money is for on-farm trial and demonstration projects. These projects should help improve how

Next Wave: Breakthrough Wave 1

Innovate UK, part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI)

Closing in 43 days
£70,000 – £350,000

Innovate UK is offering up to £10 million for industrial research projects in England. Your project must explore Createch innovation, which means creative technology that aligns with the UK industrial

Connections Through Culture Grants

British Council

Closing in 44 days
£5,000 – £15,000Arts, Entertainment & Recreation

The British Council offers grants between £5,000 and £15,000 for new collaborative projects between UK artists, creative professionals, and arts organisations. Projects must involve at least one partn

Paludiculture and Wetter Farming Fund

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Closing in 54 days
£50,000 – £1,000,000Agriculture, Forestry & Fishing, Public Administration & Defence, Charities & Non-Profit

The Paludiculture and Wetter Farming Fund is a Defra grant delivered by Natural England. It supports the development of paludiculture and wetter farming on lowland peatland in England. Paludiculture m

Going Global Partnerships Consultancy: Internationalisation Learning Cohorts

British Council

Closing in 60 days
Professional & Scientific Services, Education

The British Council is looking for a UK-based consultant or organisation to design and deliver an online learning programme. The programme will focus on internationalisation for higher education stake

Improve Animal Health and Welfare

Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Closing in 356 days
£10 – £1,000Agriculture, Forestry & Fishing, Health & Social Work

This grant pays for vet visits and diagnostic testing for livestock farmers in England. You can get between £10 and £1,000 to cover the cost of these visits. The money helps reduce diseases in your an

Poultry Biosecurity Review

DEFRA grant delivered by RPA

Closing in 825 days
Up to £430Health & Social Work

The Poultry Biosecurity Review grant pays for veterinary surgeon visits to poultry farms in England. The grant covers up to £430 for a vet-led review of your farm's biosecurity measures. This helps re

Business Support for Scotland

Scottish Government

Closing in 1555 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 (British Film Institute)

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

Qualification Grants

CITB (Construction Industry Training Board)

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

Apprenticeship Grants

CITB (Construction Industry Training Board)

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.

Digital / Technology Funding for Adult Social Care Providers

Digital Social Care

Ongoing
Health & Social Work

Digital Social Care offers funding for adult social care providers in England. The grants help you adopt and use technology to improve how you deliver care. You can find current funding opportunities

Adult Social Care Workforce Data Set (ASC-WDS) Training Funding

Skills for Care

Ongoing
Health & Social Work

Skills for Care offers free access to training funding through the Adult Social Care Workforce Data Set (ASC-WDS) service. It is open to adult social care providers in England. As well as funding for

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

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

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

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

Short Course Grants

CITB (Construction Industry Training Board)

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

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

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

Full ADOPT grant: round eight

Innovate UK

Ongoing
Up to £5,000,000Agriculture, Forestry & Fishing

Farming, growing or forestry businesses in England can apply for a share of up to £5 million. The money is for on-farm trial and demonstration projects. You must test new ideas or solutions in agricul

ADOPT facilitator support grant: round 9

Innovate UK

Ongoing
Up to £100,000Agriculture, Forestry & Fishing

Farming, growing or forestry businesses in England can apply for £2,500 to hire an external project facilitator. This grant helps you develop a full ADOPT grant application. ADOPT stands for Accelerat

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

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

Migrant Business Support

West of England Combined Authority Growth Hub

Ongoing

This grant helps non-EU migrants and refugees who run businesses in the West of England. It provides guidance and support to help you adopt green technologies and sustainable practices. The programme

The South West Investment Fund

South West Investment Fund

Ongoing

The South West Investment Fund provides finance for small and medium-sized businesses in the South West of England. It aims to fill gaps where businesses struggle to access funding through normal rout

Access to Finance – Business Funding and Investment Support

Greater Manchester Business Growth Hub

Ongoing
Other Services

The Business Growth Hub offers free funding advice to businesses in Greater Manchester. Specialists help you find the right grants, loans, or investment for your business. You get one-to-one support w

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