Find funding for your business or idea
Access grants, funding and financial resources to help develop, launch, and grow your enterprise.
High Growth Start-Up Accelerator
Accelerate your growth with up to £35,000 equity-free funding
The Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³» High Growth Start-Up Accelerator is an intensive 9-month programme for ambitious founders with established, trading businesses that are ready to grow and scale.
Successful businesses will have access to up to £35,000 of equity-free funding, alongside tailored business support, specialist expertise and access to University knowledge, research and networks.
What you'll receive
Support will be tailored to your business and could include mentoring and strategic growth planning, specialist business and industry expertise, sales and marketing support, finance and investment readiness, leadership development, and connections to relevant University expertise, partners and investors.
Funding can support agreed activities that will directly accelerate growth, such as product development, prototyping, specialist expertise, technology, regulatory requirements, intellectual property, marketing and entering new markets.
Eligibility
Businesses must:
- Be a current student or recent graduate of the Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»;
- Be actively trading with evidence of customers and revenue;
- Demonstrate significant potential for rapid growth and scalability;
- Have an ambitious founder with the capability, commitment and leadership potential to scale the business;
- Align with at least one of the Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»â€™s strategic research strengths: Marine, Health, Social Resilience or Digital / Technology.
Programme duration
Participants must commit to attending the full 9-month accelerator programme (academic year).
This is a highly selective programme with a limited number of places.
Applications close: 9 November 2026 at 09:00
Programme begins: 1 December 2026
Programme begins: 1 December 2026
For further information email thecube@plymouth.ac.uk
Funding is subject to eligibility, selection, agreed milestones and programme terms and conditions. The maximum award is £35,000 per business and successful applicants may receive less depending on their agreed growth plan and funding requirements.
Apply for the High Growth Accelerator Programme
SCALE UP £5,000
Ready to take your business further? Up to £5,000 to accelerate your next stage of growth.
You've proved your idea can work. You've found customers and you're trading. What's your next big move?
The Cube Scale Up Award offers up to £5,000 to Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³» students and recent graduates (within the past three years) who have an established, trading business with the potential and ambition to grow.
This isn't about getting started. It's about identifying what could take your business to the next level and investing in the activities that will help make it happen.
You might want to increase sales, reach new customers, launch something new, expand into another market, improve your systems or build the capacity you need to grow.
The award could help you:
How it works
1. Application form
Submit an online application outlining your business, goals, and how you plan to use the funding.
2. Supporting video pitch (five minutes)
Submit a 5-minute video pitch outlining;
- What your business does
- The problem it solves
- Why this funding matters
- What impact will the funding have?
Send your video to: thecube@plymouth.ac.uk. Ensure the subject line is: [Your Last Name] – The Cube SCALE UP Funding Video.
Please note:
- Applications will not be processed without a supporting video.
- International students studying on a Student Visa cannot launch or run a business while studying and are not eligible for The Cube's funding opportunities. (They can access The Cube's support to develop entrepreneurial skills, ideas and experience)
3. Final pitch (live panel)
Selected finalists will deliver a refined virtual live pitch to a panel of business experts who will assess the proposal and make funding decisions.
Key dates
Application deadline: 12.00 (Noon) Friday 11th December 2026
Live final pitch event: Week of 25th January 2027 – date and times to be advised (individual time slots will be provided for selected finalists).
KICKSTART £2,000
Ready to make it happen? Up to £2,000 to turn your idea into a business.
You've explored your idea. You've tested it. Now you're ready to take the next step.
The Cube KICKSTART offers up to £2,000 to Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³» students and recent graduates (within the past three years) who are ready to turn a promising idea into a real business, freelance career or social enterprise.
This award is about moving from testing to trading. It can help you reach your first customers and give your new venture the strongest possible start.
The award could help you:
How it works
1. Application form
Submit an online application outlining your business, when you will launch, and how you will use the funding.
2. Supporting video pitch (four minutes)
Record a 4-minute video pitch explaining:
- Your business
- How the funding will be used
- The impact it could have on your next steps
Send your video to: thecube@plymouth.ac.uk. Ensure the subject line is: [Your Last Name] – The Cube KICKSTART Funding Video.
Please note:
- Applications will not be processed without a supporting video.
- This fund is offered through to 30 June 2027, however once the funds are depleted the offer will no longer be available.
- International students studying on a Student Visa cannot launch or run a business while studying and are not eligible for The Cube's funding opportunities. (They can access The Cube's support to develop entrepreneurial skills, ideas and experience)
TRY IT £250
Have an idea? Let's see where it could go. Up to £250 to turn an idea into something you can test.
The Cube TRY IT is for Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³» students and recent graduates (within the past three years) who are at the very beginning of their entrepreneurial journey.
You might have spotted a problem you want to solve, dreamed up a new product, considered freelancing, or have an idea for a service or social enterprise. You don't need a finished business plan or a fully developed product.
This is your chance to experiment.
With up to £250, you can explore your idea, understand your potential customers, create a prototype and find out whether your concept has the potential to become something bigger.
The award could help you:
How it works
1. Application form
Submit an online application outlining your idea, what you plan to explore, and how you will use the funding.
2. Supporting video pitch (three minutes)
Record a 3-minute video pitch explaining:
- Your idea
- How the funding will be used
- The impact it could have on your next steps
Send your video to: thecube@plymouth.ac.uk. Ensure the subject line is: [Your Last Name] – The Cube TRY IT Funding Video.
Please note:
- Applications will not be processed without a supporting video.
- This fund is offered through to 30 June 2027, however once the funds are depleted the offer will no longer be available.
- International students studying on a Student Visa cannot launch or run a business while studying and are not eligible for The Cube's funding opportunities. (They can access The Cube's support to develop entrepreneurial skills, ideas and experience)
SWIG Finance is an official delivery partner for Start Up Loans UK, which offers an affordable source of finance to help new and early-stage business owners bring their plans to life.
Start Up Loans are available to individuals over the age of 18 who have a viable business idea but no access to finance. This includes businesses that are yet to launch, as well as those that have been trading for up to 60 months.
The programme operates with a fixed interest rate of 7.5% per annum and the ability to borrow between £500 and £25,000 per co-founder over a 1–5 year period.
Once you’ve submitted your application, a member of the SWIG Finance team will be in touch to take you through the next steps.
Representative Example: For a Start Up Loan of £10,000 repayable over 5 years. 60 monthly payments of £200.45. Rate of interest 7.5% per annum fixed. Representative APR 7.78%. The total amount of credit is £10,000. Total interest payable £2,027. The total cost of credit £2,027. The total amount payable is £12,027.
SWIG Finance is here to guide you through the application process, including advice on creating a business plan and cashflow forecast.
Start Up Loans are available to individuals over the age of 18 who have a viable business idea but no access to finance. This includes businesses that are yet to launch, as well as those that have been trading for up to 60 months.
The programme operates with a fixed interest rate of 7.5% per annum and the ability to borrow between £500 and £25,000 per co-founder over a 1–5 year period.
Once you’ve submitted your application, a member of the SWIG Finance team will be in touch to take you through the next steps.
Representative Example: For a Start Up Loan of £10,000 repayable over 5 years. 60 monthly payments of £200.45. Rate of interest 7.5% per annum fixed. Representative APR 7.78%. The total amount of credit is £10,000. Total interest payable £2,027. The total cost of credit £2,027. The total amount payable is £12,027.
SWIG Finance is here to guide you through the application process, including advice on creating a business plan and cashflow forecast.
Select the apply now button below to start your application.
Find out more and apply for a start-up loan
The FounderCatalyst platform quickly and professionally creates all of the legal paperwork and helps manage investor engagement.
Your business journey mapped out.
Starting and running your own business can be both challenging and exciting. You focus and work hard to grow your business, then before you know it you're looking for that all-important funding to catapult you to the next level.
FounderCatalyst was borne out of a desire to help founders with the legal stage of the funding journey, to be a partner you can trust. Our aim is to make your journey as simple and easy as possible; to save you time and money without any compromise on quality. Ultimately, it's about making you stand out from the crowd and boosting your chances of success.
For free you can get:
- your own professional tailored company term sheet
- a secure data room to upload supporting material, such as your pitch-deck, business plan and financial models
- the ability to invite investors to access your documents and term sheet in your data room in a safe and secure way
- non-disclosure agreements signed by investors before they view your company information
- watermarked versions of your legal documents which you can check before you commit to pay.
Find out more about FounderCatalyst
Finance and funding information
Every company requires money to run its business, and sometimes it is impossible to continue business without an injection of cash from time to time.
There are different ways to collect money and keep the business running. Sometimes, a loan from banks and other financial institutions, or they can also take funds from investors in the form of share capital. Retained profits are also utilised for this purpose. No matter what way they use for to collect money, it can be done either by funding or financing.
Generally, funding and financing are interchangeably used in the financial world, but there is a difference between these two terms.
Funding
Funding is actually the money provided by companies or by a government sector for a specific purpose, whereas, financing is a process of receiving capital or money for business purpose, and it is usually provided by financial institutions, such as, banks or other lending agencies.
Funding is an amount of money provided by the organization or government on the basis of an agreement. It is usually free of charge.
There may be certain contractual requirements in that agreement, but there are no requirements to pay back the capital. The most common facilitators that normally fulfil the funding needs of an organisation are the donations made by governments, or philanthropists.
Financing
Financing, on the other hand, is an amount of capital or the sum of money provided to an organisation with the expectation to repay, and organizations are liable to pay back the capital amount along with a certain percentage of interest. Therefore, the repayment also includes an interest component. It is usually provided by financial institutions like banks, or investors like venture capitalists, business angels, shareholders, etc.
We have finance expert 1:1 appointments available to discuss finance and funding – please contact thecube@plymouth.ac.uk to book an appointment.