Are you a QMUL student or graduated less than two years ago? Do you have a business idea or have already started trading? Is your idea the next big thing?
If you have an idea for a business that you’d like to start, develop or grow we have Try It (up to £500), Grow It (up to £3,000), Launch it (up to £3,000) and Build It (up to £10,000) funding awards available.
We have about 20 Try It Awards and 10 Grow It Awards available across the Academic Year.
For the Build It award, depending on the amount of money asked we usually have between 1 and 3 awardees.
Last year we had 50 applications and we gave out money to 24 awardees.
Current QMUL home students and all recent graduates (up to 2 years after graduation) can apply for any of our awards.
International students who have Tier 4 (General) Student immigration permission are restricted from the Try It and Grow It awards as they are not permitted to be self-employed, but are eligible to apply via the Build It route as this award supports pre-trade prototype development.
Yes. You are still eligible to apply and receive an award if you already had one previously. However, we would be looking in your application form at the impact your previous award had on your business or social enterprise to assess the need for a second award.
No. The funding is equity-free which means we don't take any shares of your business or social enterprise.
Yes. You can apply directly for a Build It award.
However, to win a Build It Award, you need to undertake significant market research to show that your product has commercial potential and offers an innovative solution to a market need.
Grow It awards are sponsored by Santander Universities, which supports QMUL Enterprise through funding, mentoring, training, and internships.
To get a reminder about our funding round opening dates, register on our Enterprise newsletter