Applicants can apply for up to £2m in loan funding through the Innovate UK Innovation Loans fund. The minimum amount an applicant can borrow is £100,000. Innovation Loan funding will cover the following cost:
- Staff salaries, social security contributions and on-costs
- Materials costs including software subscriptions, cloud computing and licences
- Capital costs such as machinery, components and IT equipment
- Subcontractors such as legal advisors, technical advisors, designers, engineers, etc
- Travel costs for the project
- Other costs such as IP advice, market research and training
Crucially, funding from Innovate UK Innovation Loan must be spent on research and development and scaling activities. Marketing, sales and operations costs are not eligible under Innovation Loans.
