North East LEP area launches new £2.4million ERDF Covid-19 Kick Start and Recovery Grant Funding

The North East Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) have just announced two new grants to support SMEs and the Tourism Industry to recover from the Covid-19 crisis.

The North East LEP region has been awarded approximately £2.4million ERDF funding to support the region's amll to medium sized enterprises (SMEs) to recover from Covid-19. Expressions of interest will be invited from today (Tuesday 11th August).

The funding is split across two funds:

• Kickstarting Tourism: £575k for eligible businesses that depend on visitors for income.
• Restart and recovery funding: £1.8million for eligible businesses in the wider economy who have been adversely affected by Covid-19. 

The funding is designed to support businesses who have been adversely impacted by Covid-19 to implement recovery plans. Following the submission of an Expression of Interest (see links below) businesses will have a review meeting with one of the North East LEP's Growth Hub Connectors to confirm eligibility, to review their recovery plans and to ensure that the business is accessing the breadth of support available to help them to implement their plan (including the Covid-19 Kick Start ERDF fund).  
 
The funding is for SMEs who are eligible for ERDF support and are able to demonstrate that they have been adversely impacted by Covid-19. To receive grant funding businesses will need to enter into a funding contract, complete the work (or purchase the goods) and pay their provider/supplier before they can claim the grant.
 
Expressions of interest will be invited from Tuesday 11th August. Businesses can find out more information and express their interest via the links below. Both funds can provide grant funding of £1,000 - £3,000.

For more information on the 'Kickstarting Tourism' Grant visit HERE

For more information on the 'SME restart and recovery' grant visit HERE