• Digital funding to improve productivity, boost performance and build a sustainable West Yorkshire economy
• Digital Enterprise 3 business support programme includes Accelerator Grants worth up to £10,000 for digital development 
• Limited number of High Impact Grants up to £35,000 available for digital transformation projects

Digital Enterprise has secured £4.6 million funding from the UK Government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF), to encourage ambitious businesses in West Yorkshire to take a technological leap to improve productivity, performance and competitiveness and achieve sustainable growth by investing in digital. 

As the new round of funding is now live, the clock is already ticking for businesses to access the support they need for growth. This third Digital Enterprise (DE3) programme will end in March 2025, giving businesses just over 12 months to apply for funding.

Digital Enterprise has two levels of grant funding available. Eligible businesses considering a digital investment between £2,000 to £25,000 can apply for a Digital Accelerator Grant for up to 50% of the project costs, with a ceiling value of £10,000.

New for DE3 is a limited number of High Impact Grants for substantial and transformative digital projects, eligible businesses can receive up to 50% contribution, (capped at a maximum value of £35,000) towards new digital projects costing between £25,000 - £100,000.

High Impact projects will take longer to complete, further reducing the time businesses have to apply for this next level of funding. Representatives from DE3 are encouraging businesses to come forward sooner rather than later, in order to take full advantage of the support available.

The new programme includes a streamlined application process that allows hardware, software, technology, connectivity and internet upgrades to be combined within a single application. Businesses will also receive impartial advice and support from their dedicated Digital Advisor, who will be on hand throughout the application process to help them make the best use of digital solutions.

Digital Enterprise Programme Manager, Suzanne Bradbury, said: “We’re here to support West Yorkshire based businesses looking to scale up. While we are not prescriptive about business sectors, this grant funding is for growth-focussed businesses, operating for more than three years that need investment in digital innovation to propel them to the next stage.

“We know businesses are facing a myriad of challenges and are increasingly having to do more with less in order to survive. Technology can play a key role in overcoming those challenges, and we are here to provide businesses in the region with the advice and financial support needed to help them progress and grow.”

Since its launch in 2016, Digital Enterprise has provided over £12 million in funding and helped over 2,700 businesses through its grant funding and business support programme, including Leeds-based businesses White Label Loyalty and VTR North.

Digital innovation and customer engagement specialist and ex-pro footballer, Achille Traore, is recognised as one of the top 100 Retail Technology Entrepreneurs in the UK. His business White Label Loyalty received a Digital Enterprise grant of £8,000 towards bespoke software development. The additional development allowed White Label Loyalty clients to fully customise their own loyalty microsites, seamlessly integrated to provide customised loyalty interfaces to their own individual customers.

Achille shared his insights and practical tips on leveraging digital technology to help improve performance and productivity at Digital Enterprise’s recent showcase event, he commented: “The financial grant support from Digital Enterprise and the advice we received from our Digital Growth Advisor allowed us to accelerate and achieve significant growth in White Label Loyalty and deliver a great experience for our customers. 

“I was delighted to talk about our experience and encourage other businesses to see how they can benefit from Digital Enterprise support. In our case, grant funding helped us to simplify the build process to make it more user-friendly, as well as speed up the implementation and on-boarding of new clients. Without a doubt, this has led to increased productivity at White Label Loyalty and created more jobs. I’m very proud of the fact that we’ve achieved this growth while staying headquartered in the city of Leeds.”

VTR North, is an award-winning, TV production company, which was able to achieve its growth goals with support from Digital Enterprise. Already successfully providing production and post-production services for Channel 4 and Sky Bet, VTR North wanted to expand into the world of audio podcasts.

With a Digital Enterprise Award of almost £10,000, the company completed a studio fit out fully equipped with the hardware and software required, such as vision mixers, cameras and microphones, to give them the ability to live webcast and produce high-quality podcasts.

Spencer Bain, MD at VTR North, explained: “The new podcast service has created a real buzz with existing clients and new opportunity for us. Being able to offer this podcasting service creates another revenue stream which is instrumental for the continued growth of the company, as well as hopefully creating a few more jobs at VTR North.”

Digital Enterprise can support businesses from a wide range of sectors and fund impactful digital projects before the programme ends in March 2025. Ambitious growth businesses can find out more about eligibility and apply for a Digital Accelerator Grant or High Impact Grant while there’s still time by visiting: https://www.digitalenterprise.co.uk/