Funding & Resources

The Energy Readiness Programme has been designed to ensure the local business community are prepared to be able to engage and capture opportunities which exist throughout the Energy Sector in the Eastern Region.

What you’ll get:

• Training needs analysis and business benchmarking
• Tailored support plan aligned to your goals
• Expert guidance from industry and education partners

Key support areas include:

• Project Management
• Quality Assurance
• Sustainability
• Health & Safety
• Financial Planning
• Leadership & Management

Additional opportunities are identified through collaboration with Chamber Supply Chain and Energy Readiness teams, with funding support available via Suffolk Economy.

The Suffolk Economy Grant (SEG) is here to help micro, small, and medium-sized businesses scale up — with funding for digital transformation, innovation, and sustainability projects.

Whether you’re investing in new tech, innovating products, or cutting your carbon footprint, SEG offers grants of up to £100,000 for eligible Suffolk businesses.

• Tailored support from expert advisers
•  Funding that drives productivity, innovation & growth
• Open to Suffolk-based businesses trading for 2+ years

East Suffolk Council is helping local events grow with Sizewell C Tourism Fund Events Grant, offering up to £25,000 for marketing, infrastructure, accessibility, staffing, and event programming. The scheme supports events that benefit local communities and attract visitors, especially outside the busy summer season.

The Sizewell C Community Fund will provide up to £23m over the next decade for local charities, community groups and social enterprises who are delivering projects that benefit local communities in East Suffolk.

The focus of the fund is on reducing the impact of, or building on the opportunities created by, the construction of Sizewell C nuclear power station.

There are two different grant programmes that groups and organisations can apply to:

Small Grants: up to £10,000/yr

Large Grants: over £10,000/yr

 

Suffolk Business Grant Scheme

The Suffolk Business Grant Scheme has been rolled out to support businesses across Suffolk to grow and become more productive, to encourage innovation and to become more environmentally sustainable, the Suffolk Business Grant Scheme provides businesses with the opportunity to apply for grants between £5,000 – £10,000.

If you are a UK registered enterprise and you are an SME (employ no more than 250 people, turnover is no more than £36m and total assets no more than £18m) and your business is growing and expanding or has good growth potential, you may well be eligible.

Turquoise serves as the fund manager for the Low Carbon Innovation Fund (LCIF), focusing on early-stage companies that contribute to tangible reductions in Greenhouse Gas Emissions through the advancement of new technologies or business models.

Additionally, Turquoise extends a spectrum of services to investors, encompassing discretionary fund management and guidance on individual investments. These services encompass the formulation of investment strategies, establishment of corporate venturing funds, participation in fund investment and advisory committees, and effective portfolio management.

Suffolk Wildlife Trust is offering groundworkers and digger drivers the opportunity to learn how to successfully restore local natural ponds and waterbed habitats.

Freshwater habitats are among the most vulnerable and threatened in the UK, declining faster than any other ecosystem. Despite their abundance, up to 70% of Suffolk’s 22,000 ponds are neglected or abandoned. Suffolk Wildlife Trust has identified 20 freshwater ponds on farmland in urgent need of restoration.

This fantastic opportunity is an excellent way to support and showcase your business’s ESG values.

If you are willing to help, please contact Sophie Flux, Senior Business Partnerships Officer: sophie.flux@suffolkwildlifetrust.org

Sizewell C has recently launched their Accommodation Management System.

The Accommodation Management System (AMS) has been established to connect Sizewell C workers with local accommodation providers. It’s completely free to use, and it encourages all types of accommodation, including spare rooms, HMOs, private rentals, holiday cottages, B&Bs, caravan and holiday parks, and hotels, as long as they meet the criteria of being of good standard and safe.

Whether you’re offering accommodation or seeking it, the AMS System is the place for you.

The Norfolk and Suffolk Innovation grant mentoring project explores a businesses aims and ambitions so they can match you with mentors or bid writing coaches. They will help you to develop your ideas and reach the stage where you’re ready to apply for innovation funding.

The project helps a variety of business types, from sole traders to micro, small and medium businesses.

Their mentors and bid writing coaches can help identify appropriate grants for you. Then, coach your business in the art of bid writing, helping you develop your funding application.

Connect Consultancy, as part of the Auditel network, have been making life easier, and less expensive for clients across the UK since 2000.

Auditel is family run business which takes pride in the relationships, nurturing  their clients, working alongside your existing finance, operational and procurement teams to manage and reduce business costs, processes and admin.