COVID-19 Micro-Business E-commerce Grant for Retail Businesses

Check your eligibility.

To make an application, you will need to provide:

  • Your business name.
  • Your contact name, email and phone number.
  • Your business address and postcode.
  • The date you established your business in Northern Ireland.
  • Number of people you employ in Northern Ireland.
  • The financial year end of your business.
  • The annual turnover of your business.
  • The balance sheet total of your business.
  • Latest financial/accounts information including offline and online sales.
  • Details of the project with costs, tasks and timelines.
  • Your company registration number (if applicable) issued by Companies House, beginning with NI followed by six numbers, for example NI123456.

You will also need to provide electronically:

  • Supplier quotation(s) for all the project costs included in the application form. It is advisable you shop around and get quotes from a few potential suppliers but please only attach the preferred supplier quotation(s).
  • A valid form of Photographic ID as proof of your identity, such as a scanned or photograph copy of a valid passport or a current (full or provisional) driving licence. All driving licences with an expiry date between 1 February and 31 August 2020 will be treated as valid for a further seven months.
  • A scanned or photograph copy of proof of the business address such as a bank statement dated within the last three months for an account used by your business that clearly shows the address.

The maximum file size of each attached document is 3MB.

The online application process takes approximately one hour to complete. You can save your application and return to it at any time, prior to the closing date of 6pm Friday 12 March 2021.

*If demand exceeds the budget available, funding will be allocated on a “first come first served basis” and the call for applications may close earlier than the planned closing date above.

Is your business eligible?

Answer the following questions to find out if you can apply.

Q1 - Is your business based in Northern Ireland?
Q2 - Do you operate a retail business with physical retail premises in NI? (e.g. high street shop, trade counter, etc).
Q3 -Is your business a micro sized enterprise (SME):
  • Employing less than 10 full-time staff
  • With an annual turnover not exceeding £2M and a balance sheet total not exceeding £2M
Q4 -Has your business been trading profitably for at least two years and is it currently solvent?
Q5 - Does your retail business sell a physical product, or a range of physical products, that can be sold online and shipped to customers?
Q6 - Does your business have an existing online presence such as a basic business website, online marketplace or social media channels?
Q7 - Will your project receive any other public funding such as government or European Union funding?
Q8 - Will your project have a minimum eligible expenditure of £1,250 excluding VAT? Find out more about eligible activities here
Q9 - Are you able to deliver your project, pay the costs in full to your supplier and submit your claim to Invest NI within the next 6 months?

Sorry, from your answers your business does not meet the eligibility criteria for the COVID-19 Micro-business E-commerce Grant.

You can find out more about the COVID-19 Micro-business E-commerce Grant eligibility criteria here: nibusinessinfo.co.uk/mbeg

For latest information, the measures taken by the UK Government and Northern Ireland Executive and the support available to help you mitigate its impact of COVID-19, please visit: nibusinessinfo.co.uk/business-support/coronavirus

If you have any enquiries about the COVID-19 Micro-business E-commerce Grant complete this enquiry form