Improve your digital capabilities with the Digital Development Loan

Whether you’re looking to expand your business, or simply invest in new technological advances, finding the right type of funding to apply for can be overwhelming. There is so much that can be found on the internet, with new grants and opportunities added sometimes on a daily basis. Trying to do your day job and keep up to date with what support is out there can be extremely time consuming and often results in businesses not applying for funding at all. One example of this is the Digital Development Loan.

We recently met with Kate Forbes MSP, the minister for Public Finance and the Digital Economy, who advised how the Scottish Government are supporting small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to improve their digital capabilities with incentives such as the Digital Development Loan. Introduced in 2018, it is an interest free loan on amounts ranging from £5,000 to £100,000 over a period of 3 months to 5 years, and can be used to improve digital capabilities and processes in areas such as cyber security, data analytics, software engineering and digital skill development.

The support is designed to strengthen the ability of Scotland’s SMEs to innovate and compete digitally. However, in its first year, the Scottish Government’s Digital Development Loan fund awarded a mere £1m to Scottish SMEs, benefiting only 20 SMEs.  Although the size of the loan fund is limited, lack of uptake from SMEs is more the issue than the size of the fund available.

The Scottish Government provide a variety of support to businesses in Scotland, but trying to find the support that is relevant to your business can be a challenge.

At EQ, we regularly meet with representatives of Scottish Enterprise to keep up to date with what support is available and Government support can be part of the overall solution for your business. For help identifying the support/funding you require and assist you through the process, speak to one of our Corporate Finance team by emailing corporatefinance@eqaccountants.co.uk or call one of our offices today.