Grants of up to £49,999 available for rural micro or small business
Posted: 6th June 2026
Grants of up to £49,999 available for rural micro or small business
Are you a rural micro or small business in Cumbria? Then you could be eligible for a grant of up to £49,999 from the new Cumbria Rural Enterprise Grants scheme.
Cumbria Chamber of Commerce is running the scheme on behalf of Westmorland and Furness and Cumberland councils.
Funding for this project has been made available by the UK Government from the Cumbria Capital Programme, a £10m package of capital funding for local growth investment to invest in projects that support place-based economic regeneration across the area. This funding has been secured by the Cumbria Combined Authority, with Westmorland and Furness Council and Cumberland Council providing additional funding and support for the scheme.
The capital grants will support the purchase of new equipment and small-scale capital improvements to help businesses to grow, start up, diversify, innovate and improve productivity.
They will be open to all small and micro businesses in Cumbria, with a focus on rural areas. Expressions of interest will open on June 1.
Grant amounts will range between £1,000 to £49,999 with an average award around £15,000. A total of 65 grants will be awarded.
Specifically, the scheme aims to:
Support businesses to overcome the challenges facing them and respond positively to opportunities, for example by providing funding to support cost reductions, productivity enhancements and growth;
Grow businesses: grants help rural businesses invest in equipment, facilities, or technology, increasing productivity, turnover and resilience;
Create jobs: capital funding will in turn support new hires and apprenticeships, reducing local economic inactivity;
Diversify the rural economy: encourages non-traditional enterprises, visitor economy, creative industries, and agri-businesses, making rural economies more resilient and impactful;
Support new start-ups: encourages new businesses to start and recently formed businesses to grow through derisking early-stage capital investment;
Attract investment: successful grant-funded projects will leverage additional private or public investment.
