Grants and support for exporting

Public support for exporters in the UK is mostly advice, training and access to trade missions, with cash grants limited to a few devolved schemes. UK Export Finance guarantees bank lending and insures against non-payment, and gives no grants.

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Why export grants are scarce

The Subsidy Control Act 2022 prohibits subsidies that depend on export performance, and that prohibition applies even to small awards made as Minimal Financial Assistance. A public body cannot pay you for each order you win abroad. It can fund the work around exporting: advice, training, market research, introductions to buyers, and places on trade missions and at overseas shows.

In England the lead is the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, the name the Department for Business and Trade took in July 2026, when the functions of the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology were redistributed across government. In Scotland it is Scottish Development International, the international arm of Scottish Enterprise. In Wales it is the Welsh Government through Business Wales, and in Northern Ireland it is Invest NI.

Grants from central government are listed in our grant finder, and Swoop’s platform matches businesses with grants as part of a funding search. The finance side of exporting, from paying suppliers before a buyer pays you to guarantees on contract bonds, is covered on export finance and trade finance.

Help across the UK

The export support team

Send a question through GOV.UK about selling goods or services to any market except Ukraine, Russia, Belarus, Israel, the Occupied Palestinian Territories and the Red Sea region, which have their own service. Advisers reply by email or arrange a call.

The UK Export Academy

Now run as part of the Business Academy on business.gov.uk: live events and recorded sessions on selling overseas, customs, getting paid and market entry, funded by the government.

International Trade Week

Monday 9 to Friday 13 November 2026, with an opening event in Manchester, around 50 online sessions and one-to-one meetings with chambers of commerce, UK Export Finance and other advisers through the Export Support Hub.

UK Export Finance

UK Export Finance is the government’s export credit agency. It describes its role for smaller exporters as giving a government guarantee to lenders so that businesses can get working capital, and managing the risk of not being paid through insurance. The money comes from your bank, which decides whether to lend, and the guarantee covers part of the bank’s risk on lending against overseas contracts.

UK Export Finance has said that a joint scheme with the British Business Bank, due in 2027, will cover smaller exporters that need lower-value working capital loans. Until then, the loans it supports come through the banks it works with, and its export finance managers around the UK can say whether your contract is the kind it backs. For the lending itself, a funding search through Swoop covers limited companies and LLPs, and sole traders and partnerships borrowing more than £25,000, across trade finance, invoice finance and export finance.

Export support in each nation

EnglandScotlandWalesNorthern Ireland
Who runs itDepartment for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, with growth hubsScottish Development InternationalWelsh Government, through Business WalesInvest NI
AdviceExport support team on GOV.UK; Business AcademyInternational team at Scottish Enterprise; overseas officesExport advisers, workshops and webinarsExport Health Check and Invest NI advisers
Trade missions and showsDepartment missions and UK pavilions at selected showsOverseas missions, extended through the International Trade Partnership with the Scottish Chambers of CommerceWelsh Government trade missionsMissions and exhibitions for Invest NI clients
GrantsLocal schemes through councils and mayoral authoritiesCheck Find Business SupportCheck with Business WalesAmbition to Grow: up to £10,000 of its £30,000 for market, product and skills development
How to startGOV.UK export support formScottish Enterprise enquiry lineBusiness Wales helpline, 03000 6 03000Invest NI, 0800 181 4422
A man writing figures in a notebook beside a laptop and calculator

Paying for market visits and shows

A first export push costs money before any order arrives: travel to the market, a stand or a place on a mission, samples, translated material, product certification and the time of the people doing it. Plan those costs as a project with a budget, and fund them the way you would fund any other investment, from cash or from a facility arranged before you commit.

Invest NI supports around 100 businesses a year to attend trade missions and exhibitions, and those places are for its clients. In Scotland the Scottish Government’s export plan funds more overseas missions through the chambers of commerce. In England, check the events listed on business.gov.uk and ask your growth hub about local schemes. Once orders arrive, the gap between paying for goods and being paid by an overseas buyer is a working capital question: see working capital finance.

  • Travel and accommodation for market visits
  • Stand space, samples and shipping
  • Certification and labelling for the new market

Questions people ask

Are there grants for exporting?

Cash grants for exporting are limited, partly because the Subsidy Control Act 2022 prohibits subsidies that depend on export performance. Public support goes into advice, training, market research and places on trade missions. Northern Ireland’s Ambition to Grow grant includes up to £10,000 for market, product and skills development for businesses that are not yet Invest NI clients.

Does UK Export Finance give grants?

No. UK Export Finance guarantees part of what a bank lends to an exporter and insures against the risk of an overseas buyer not paying. The bank decides whether to lend and on what terms. See export finance for how those facilities work.

What happened to the Department for Business and Trade?

It was renamed the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade in July 2026, when the functions of the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology were redistributed across government. It still runs the export support team, the Business Academy and International Trade Week.

Where do I get export help in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland?

In Scotland, Scottish Development International, the international arm of Scottish Enterprise. In Wales, Business Wales on 03000 6 03000. In Northern Ireland, Invest NI on 0800 181 4422, whose trade missions and exhibitions are open to its clients. The UK-wide export support team and Business Academy are open to businesses in every nation.

Is there funding to exhibit at an overseas trade show?

Support comes through places on missions and pavilions: the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade lists events on business.gov.uk, Scottish Development International runs overseas missions, and Invest NI supports its clients at more than 20 missions and exhibitions a year. Ask your growth hub or chamber of commerce about local help, and plan the cost as part of your export budget.

Finance is subject to status and to the lender’s terms. A personal guarantee makes you liable for the company’s debt if it does not repay, and it can be enforced against your own assets, including your home. Nothing here is a personal recommendation.

Grants

Export finance

Bank guarantees, bond support and insurance from UK Export Finance for businesses selling overseas.

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Trade finance

Finance that pays your suppliers for stock and imports, repaid when the goods are sold.

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Business grants in Northern Ireland

Invest NI, Ambition to Grow, Go Succeed and the councils.

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Business grants in Scotland

Scottish Enterprise, Highlands and Islands Enterprise, South of Scotland Enterprise.

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All business funding

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