- Defence Innovation Loans now offers loans from £100 thousand
to £2 million
- Defence Innovation Loans is an alternative funding method to
help small and medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) who often struggle
to bring their ideas to market
The Defence and Security
Accelerator (DASA) and Innovate
UK introduced Defence Innovation
Loans in the summer of 2021, as an alternative funding method
to help convert mature defence innovations into viable business
propositions that can compete for defence procurement.
Aimed at small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and with a
below market interest rate of 7.4% per annum, Defence Innovation
Loans offer affordable funds to help innovators get closer
towards commercialisation.
Following the success of the Defence Innovation Loans funding
model, DASA and Innovate
UK are pleased to announce exciting changes to improve the
service.
Defence Innovation Loans: what’s new?
DASA always seeks to improve its services, to ensure that your
innovations are accelerated effectively. Here is how we have
improved Defence Innovation Loans and made the experience more
effective for you to apply:
- Defence Innovation Loans are expanding to offer loans from
£100 thousand to £2 million (previously £250 thousand to £1.6
million)
- the loan ‘availability’ period will be up to 3 years
(previously 2 years)
- Defence Innovation Loans will operate on cycle-based
assessment periods, but will remain open all year round
- the initial outcome of loan eligibility will still be carried
out by DASA and Innovate UK, within 7 weeks from the closing date
of the cycle
Who can apply for a Defence Innovation Loan?
To apply for a Defence Innovation Loan, you must:
- be a UK registered SME
- intend to exploit the results in the UK or overseas to make a
significant and positive impact on the UK economy and / or
productivity
- give evidence that your business is suitable to take on a
loan
Please note that individuals, academic institutions, research
organisations and large companies are not eligible for Defence
Innovation Loans.
What innovations are considered for a loan?
Defence Innovation Loans are open to innovative ideas to improve
the defence of the UK. Your innovation must be mature, at
TRL 6 or above, to
ensure the solution can be commercialised within the time scale
of the loan. There must also be clear evidence of a Defence need
for the innovative solution.
Ready to apply?
Read the full Defence Innovation Loans
document and submit an application.
Here to help: Meet the Access to Mentoring & Finance
(A2MF) Team
The A2MF team works closely with innovators to understand their
business needs and aspirations. Their goal is to help companies
become investment, market and supply chain ready.
Meet the A2MF team and see
how they can help you.
