EEDA - East of England Development Agency

New funding to help test bright business ideas

27 February 2009

Entrepreneurs with bright business ideas are being given a helping hand to turn them into commercial realities, thanks to new funding announced by the East of England Development Agency (EEDA).

The Proof of Concept fund, which helps companies test the commercial potential of new products and processes, is back by popular demand after nineteen companies received a share of £390,000 in the previous round. The new round is part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), and brings EEDA’s total investment in Proof of Concept to over £1 million in the last year.

EEDA’s new executive director of innovation, Dr Paul May, said:

“The East of England is at the forefront of innovation, and despite the economic downturn, there are businesses out there who are preparing for the inevitable upturn by setting their sights on bringing new products to market.  EEDA is flexing its business support offering to respond to these ambitions, and that’s why the new Proof of Concept round is so important. We have streamlined the application process to encourage even more entrepreneurs and small businesses to come forward and pitch their business idea in this round.”

The new Proof of Concept round has been announced on the back of EEDA’s recent success with an ‘innovation voucher’ scheme. Offering SMEs free consultancy time with the region’s top academics, EEDA received 139 applications from regional businesses developing new products.
 
The closing date for the next round of Proof of Concept funding is 17 April. For more information, and to apply for funding, go to www.eeda.org.uk/poc. Further support available to innovative business can be found on EEDA’s Business Map – an online tool plotting all forms of publicly-funded business support.

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