Do you have a dream of getting your sustainable business idea off the ground if only you had a bit of cash to help you develop your concept?
Then a special drop-in session organised by the Students’ Union’s Enterprise Unit on Friday May 3 about UnLtd-Hefce funding could be just what you are looking for.
The session, between 3.15pm and 5pm, will introduce the funding, designed to help social enterprise start-ups. Applications are still open – but only until the end of this academic year. On offer are three tiers of funding:
- Try It: where students and staff can apply for up to £500 to research and try out a new idea
- Do It: where students and staff can apply for up to £5,000 to work on existing projects
- Build It: where £15,000 is up for grabs to develop existing business ideas and scale them nationally
Siobain Hone, Enterprise Education Manager based in the Students’ Union, said: “This award money is such a unique opportunity to put your ideas into action. Social Enterprise business models are growing in the UK economy and are really giving corporate, public and even governmental agencies a run for their money. Being able to capture funding in stages, with the support of UnLtd and the University, can help create a long, sustaining organisations.”
The drop-in session is on Friday May 3 between 3.15pm and 5pm in Room 1E 2.4 where you’ll be able to chat to the Enterprise Team about your ideas, what the funding can be used for and how you can become an UnLtd award winner. You can also contact the team with any questions by emailing enterprise@bath.ac.uk or ringing 01225 38 6678. There’s also more information here.
One successful entrepreneur who used UnLtd funding is Department of Mechanical Engineering’s Dr Luke Tregidgo who used the ‘try it’ award to get his idea for Secret City Tours in Bath led by homeless people off the ground. He then applied for the ‘do it’ award to keep it all going.
“I had the idea for Secret City Tours after taking the Unseen Tours of London. I thought why not pair one of the most valuable assets in Bath, tourism, with one of their biggest problems, homelessness. These tours have generated a media snowball! We’ve been featured in the Bath Chronicle, Telegraph and even on the BBC’s One Show. Without this funding, I don’t think this all would have been possible.”
Read how the BBC covered the story here.