The Edinburgh Merchant Company Enterprise Fund
Guidelines For Applicants
The Edinburgh Merchant Company Enterprise Fund's mission is "to support community development by providing opportunities for entrepreneurship and business birth through the provision of appropriate grants coupled with the education, encouragement and mentoring of the founders of supported businesses".
The Fund offers awards of £500 - £5,000 to enable QMU students, staff and graduates to progress their businesses. In addition to this funding, the Edinburgh Merchant Company also offer invaluable mentorship opportunities to applicants.
Please read the following carefully for eligibility criteria and an overview of the competition process:
1. QMU students, staff and graduates are eligible to apply.
2. Individuals/teams who have applied to this fund previously (both those who were awarded funding and those who were not) are eligible to apply again this year.
3. Applications will only be accepted via the QMU application form for the Edinburgh Merchant Company Enterprise Fund.
4. A Cashflow Forecast must be provided as part of the application process.
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- You can access a template Cashflow Forecast here.
- Completed Cashflow Forecasts should be submitted via email to rkedu@qmu.ac.uk.
- We understand applicants may not be experienced in generating Cashflow Forecasts - if you are not sure how to go about this, please contact our on-campus Business Gateway team who can provide guidance and support with this and other parts of the application process.
5. This is a competitive funding call and you must clearly demonstrate your ambitions for your business and how the funding will help you achieve them. Awards will range from £500 - £5,000.
6. Applicants must specify the value of the funding they are requesting and provide a breakdown of how it will be spent as part of the application process.
7. The deadline for applications in the 2023/24 academic year is 23:59 on Sunday 28th April 2024. Late applications will not be accepted.
8. Those applicants selected to progress to the live pitching event will receive an invitation via email by Friday 10th May 2024.
9. Unsuccessful candidates will also be informed via email.
10. The live pitching event will take place in person at The Merchants Hall on Thursday 30th May 2024.
11. Candidates will be informed via email following the pitching event if they have been selected to receive funding and/or mentorship.
12. Funds will be distributed to successful candidates by Friday 14th June 2024.
