News, opportunities and helpful tools
Stay up to date with the latest news affecting rural business owners including, funding opportunities and helpful tips from the GrowBiz team.
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Scottish Rural Leadership Programme
Business owners, directors, or senior members of a rurally based business or organisation can find out about the Scottish Rural Leadership Programme during online info sessions here.
The GrowBiz Team Share #NoWrongPath Advice
Read what members of the GrowBiz team would tell their younger selves, and what advice they have for those receiving exam results on the 6th August.
Low Emission Zone (LEZ) Retrofit Fund
Scottish micro businesses and sole traders that operate within 20 kilometres of the Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen or Dundee low emission zones (LEZs) could receive funding... Find out more here
Change Mental Health Rural Connections
Free funded introductory mental health awareness training is available from Change Mental Health for rural organisations and businesses with less than 50 members of staff. Find out more here.
Scottish Government funding to help you pay for your energy efficiency projects
Loans up to £100k are available to help you pay for energy and carbon-saving upgrades in your business. You could also receive a cashback grant of up to £30k. Read more.
The Catalyst Fund
Loans of £50,000 or more to social enterprises through a flexible, revenue-based repayment model.
Find out more here.
SMART: SCOTLAND Grant
Grant from Scottish Enterprise to enable small or medium-sized businesses to conduct feasibility studies for technological projects.
Find out more here.
Scotland’s Climate Week
This week is Scotland’s Climate Week, an event that encourages coming together to tackle the climate emergency. Encouraging sustainable living and working is a hugely important to GrowBiz, so we’ve published an article about what action we’re taking, as well as sharing personal progress and ideas from some of our team members.
REDS Business Services Showcase
GrowBiz initiative REDS has launched its first Business Services Showcase to support rural micro businesses and self employed who provide business services.
Environmental Placement Programme
Get help to recruit a student or graduate to work on an environmentally focused project.
Geovation Accelerator Programme
This programme has been designed to help founders of start ups grow their business and solve real world challenges using geospatial and property data. The current open call ends Friday 29 August 2025.
Historic Environment Grants
This programme is to support projects that closely relate to and will benefit a Scottish historic environment asset.
Team Tips for Stress Awareness Month
April is Stress Awareness Month, and since our team are contractors with their own businesses, they know that being self-employed can present challenges that make us feel anxious or tense. So we asked what works for them when it comes to limiting stress…