County & City Enterprise Boards (CEBs) provide a range of financial supports designed to assist with the establishment and/or growth of small scale business employing up to ten people.

Priming Grants
Business Expansion Grants
Feasibility/Innovation Grant
Refundable Aid

General Conditions
The general conditions for grant support are as follows:

A business employing up to 10 employees;
A manufacturing or internationally traded services business;
A domestically traded service business with the potential to trade internationally;
A domestically traded services business being established by a female returning to the workforce or unemployed persons where the potential for deadweight and displacement does not exist.
The enterprise must be in the commercial sphere;
The enterprise must demonstrate a market for the product/service;
The enterprise must have a capacity for growth and new job creation;

Priming Grants (For Businesses Trading less than 18 months)
A Priming Grant is a business start-up grant, available to qualifying micro enterprises within first 18 months of start-up. Up to a maximum of 50% of the cost of the investment up to a maximum of €75,000. Eligible expenditure includes capital items; salary costs; rental/accommodation costs; utility costs; marketing costs; consultancy costs and specific business training. Grants over €80,000 and up to €150,000 shall be the exception and shall only apply in the case of projects that clearly demonstrate a potential to graduate to Enterprise Ireland and/or to export interntaionally. A maximum grant of up to €15,000 per full time job will apply to high value jobs attracting over €40k salary.

Business Expansion Grants (For Businesses Trading longer than 18 months)
The Business Expansion Grant is designed to assist the business in it’s growth phase after the initial 18 month start-up period. Micro enterprises that have availed of a Priming Grant are ineligible to apply for a Business Expansion Grant until 18 months after the final drawdown date of the Priming Grant, except in exceptional circumstances. Up to a maximum of 50% of the cost of the investment up to a maximum amount of €75,000. Eligible expenditure includes capital items; salary costs'rental/accommodation costs; utility costs; marketing costs; consultancy costs and specific business training. Grants over €80,000 up to €150,000 may be awarded in exceptional cases with clear potential to graduate to the Enterprise Ireland Portfolio / export internationally. A maximum grant of up to €15,000 per full time job will apply to high value jobs attracting over €40k salary.

Feasibiliy/Innovation Grants
Feasibility/Innovation Grants are designed to assist the promoter with researching market demand for a product or service and examining its sustainability. Up to 50% of the cost of undertaking a feasibility study on an innovative new product or service may be considered subject to a maxmium of €20,000. Eligible expenditure includes assistance with innovation including specific consultancy requirements, hiring of expertise from third level colleges, private specialists, design, patent costs, and prototype development.

South Cork Enterprise Board, Unit 6A, South Ring Business Park, Kinsale Road, Cork Tel: 021 4975281 Fax: 021 4975287 Email: enterprise@sceb.ie