Hundreds of micro, small and medium-sized businesses in Wales
will soon be able to apply for Welsh Government funding designed
to help them to reduce their running costs.
Grants of between £5,000 and £10,000 will be available to
eligible businesses in the retail, hospitality, and leisure
sectors.
The £20m Future Proofing Fund will help businesses strengthen
their future trading position by increasing profitability through
investment in renewable energy technology, improvements to the
fabric of their premises, and upgrades to systems or machinery to
reduce energy use.
Economy Minister said: “The ongoing
cost-of-living and cost-of-doing-business crises continues to
present difficulties to businesses across Wales.
“These grants will help micro, small and medium sized businesses
from the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors to make some
significant changes in the way they run their operations so they
can adapt for the future.”
Finance Minister said: “In tough times, we
want to help businesses get their bills down for good. This new
fund will help reduce running costs with practical support that
aids long term business planning.
“We are also providing a fifth successive year of support for
retail, leisure and hospitality businesses with their rates
bills, at a cost of £78m. This builds on the almost £1bn of
support provided in rates relief schemes to these sectors since
2020-21.”
The grants will be paid up to 75 per cent of project costs or
£10,000, whichever is the lesser amount. It is expected
that the business will contribute the remaining 25 per cent from
other sources.
The fund is open to businesses located in
Wales (either headquartered or have an operating address in
Wales) and which employ people in Wales.
An eligibility checker will open in mid-April 2024 and
applications will open in May 2024.
