Rural Business Development Grant Scheme TRPSI

The Rural Business Development Grant Scheme is funded by the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) as part of the Tackling Rural Poverty and Social Isolation (TRPSI) Programme. The Tackling Rural Poverty and Social Isolation Programme’s (TRPSI) Rural Business Development Grant Scheme aims to support the sustainability, recovery, and development of rural micro-businesses across Northern Ireland by providing a small
capital grant for the business. The TRPSI Programme is funded by the Department of Agriculture, Environment, and Rural Affairs, and this grant Programme is administered and managed by local councils.

Eligibility

Grants are available to support the recovery, sustainability, and development of existing micro-businesses based in rural areas that have not previously received funding under the TRPSI Rural Business Development Scheme 2021, which was
administered by local councils.

You can apply for a Rural Business Development Grant if:

• The business is based in a rural area of Northern Ireland. A rural area is defined as an area with a population of fewer than 5,000 residents, plus the areas of Strathfoyle, Newbuildings, and Culmore in Derry/Londonderry Urban Area (OUA) and Milltown, Helens Bay, Crawfordsburn, and Groomsport in the Belfast Metropolitan Urban Area (BMUA). If you are unsure if you are in an eligible rural area, please contact your local Council office before
  submitting your application.
• You are an existing, registered private Business or Social Economy Enterprise that is actively trading commercially; as evidenced by providing your self-assessment number or Limited Company details and sales turnover details.
• You have not received funding under the TRPSI Rural Business Development Scheme 2021. Businesses that received funding under the TRPSI Rural Business Development Scheme in 2019 and in 2020 are eligible to apply.
• Your business currently employs less than 10 full-time equivalent employees (based on full-time 30 hours per week and part-time at least 16 hours per week).
• You are appropriately insured or prepared to obtain appropriate insurance if awarded a grant (building, contents, or public liability insurance as appropriate). No evidence of this is required at the application stage, but you will be asked to confirm insurance cover at the grant claim stage and provide it should your claim be selected for an audit check.
• You have a dedicated bank account used by the business. No evidence of this is required at the application stage, but you must confirm you have this as part of your application declaration. Bank statements showing payments
  clearing from this dedicated bank account is required at the claim stage.
• You have attended a pre-funding workshop before the application call closes. Details of workshops are available by contacting your local Council using the details in Appendix 1.
• You can provide a detailed specification and two ‘like for like’ quotations for each item to be purchased which meet the guidelines stated in section 1.7.
• You can complete your project before 31 October 2022. It is anticipated that grant offers will be made in late August / early September 2022. Your project cannot commence until you receive a formal offer of funding. Projects must be completed by 31 October 2022, with all works completed, onsite and operational, paid, and through the bank account by this date.
• You are aged 18 or above at the application deadline. You may be asked to provide evidence of this at some point in the assessment process if you are awarded a Letter of Offer.
• Only one application can be accepted per business/ legal entity.
• Sports Clubs and Community Groups can only be considered if they are commercially trading and generate sales revenue from selling goods and services to customers who are not exclusively Club or Community Group
  members. The grant can only be used to support the sustainability, survival, and/or development of this commercial element, and not for the club or community group on its own. Projects that can be supported by other funding sources, such as Sport NI, are not eligible to be considered under this scheme.

Benefits

• Funding opportunity.

Application process

To apply to the Rural Business Development Grant Scheme click here

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