Funding opportunities

• All applicants must be students or alumni who have officially graduated within 3 years of the date of submission from an EIRA institution.
• Applicants can be individuals or groups.
• Throughout the process applicants must be legally residing in the UK.
• Applicants must have the right to work and conduct business activity in the UK at the time the funding is paid and for at least 7 months after the funding has been paid. Tier 4 students are not eligible.
• All businesses need to be registered with a business bank account by the time of funding pay out.
• Artificial intelligence, biotechnology, and digital creative will be the main areas of focus in case of large application volumes; however any industries are welcome to apply.
• Pre-qualifying applications must be submitted by 12am on 27 January 2020.

First round

You will need to complete a written application on CareerHub and a 3 minute video.

The written application should include:

• Your business, its aims and objectives
• What problem are you solving?
• How much EIRA microfinance funding do you need?
• What will you use the funding for?
• What do you expect to happen as a result of the funding?
• Why is this important for your business?
• Who are your competitors?
• Who else is involved in your work?
• What other help might you need?
• How will you grow your business further

You will also need to produce a 3-minute video giving an introduction to your business/idea, and explaining what the funding will allow you to do.

Final round

A face-to-face pitch presentation in front of a review panel, which comprises of different institutions from the EIRA network.