Up to £30,000 for Innovative Business Ideas – Techstart Concept Plus Grant

The Techstart Concept Plus Grant Competition supports entrepreneurs in Northern Ireland who are at an early stage of developing an innovative product, technology or business concept with the potential to become a scalable company.

Here’s what you can expect:

• £30,000 in grant funding

• 100% non-dilutive and non-repayable

• Funding designed to validate novel business ideas

• Support to develop and test prototypes

• Funding to help establish technical and commercial feasibility

• Suitable for both technology and non-technology innovations

• Designed to help promising concepts progress towards commercialisation

• Potential pathway towards future equity investment

• Eligible applicants progress to a remote pitch session as part of the selection process.

Who can apply?

• Entrepreneurs and founders based in Northern Ireland

• Very early-stage startups

• Individuals developing a novel business concept

• Limited companies, provided the company is registered in Northern Ireland

• Applicants don't need to be working full-time on their idea yet

• Founders should already be taking steps to test and validate their concept

• Ideas should have the potential to develop into a significant scalable company

• Both tech and non-tech concepts can qualify

• Service-based businesses generally aren't suitable

• Businesses developing technology purely to support their own consultancy or existing business aren't normally suitable

• Projects where a university owns equity or the relevant intellectual property aren't suitable.

Deadline: 13 October 2026 at 5:00pm.