With emerging technologies playing an increasingly important role in helping businesses to grow – can you afford to miss out?
The Digital Transformation Flexible Fund can offer eligible businesses and social enterprises help to fund their digital transformation project.
Digital technology is transforming the way in which businesses operate, helping them to gain a competitive edge and achieve long term success. The DTFF grants are worth between £5,000 and £20,000 and are designed to help small and micro businesses accelerate their digital transformation ambitions.
If eligible, the grant can fund up to 70% of the cost of a project with 30% match funding from the applicant.
The DTFF programme is a competitive process where proposals are compared to each other to determine those that offer the biggest potential for business growth and digital transformation.
Funding Call 4 is expected to open in March 2025.
You can submit an Expression of Interest (EOI) now and we will contact you again once the Call opens if eligible for an Application.
Submit An Expression of Interest
Eligibility
Businesses wishing to access the Digital Transformation Flexible Fund must:
- Be based in Northern Ireland and operate within 1 of the 11 local Council areas.
- Be a Small or Micro business (Micro business: 1-9 FTEs. Small business: 10-49 FTEs – Full Time Equivalent).
- Be VAT registered.
- Be Actively trading for a minimum of 12 months.
- Be focused on one or more of the six funded advanced digital technologies;
- Have not received State Aid/Subsidy (funding from any national or local public sector scheme) in excess of €300,000 over the previous three financial years (De Minimis aid).
- DTFF is open to all sectors with the exception of primary agriculture, forestry and fisheries.
What technologies are funded?
DTFF will enable the purchasing of capital equipment and/or resources for ‘off the shelf’ software solutions and/or bespoke system development, based on the following advanced digital technologies/tools:
- Smart technologies/smart environments, the Internet of Things (IoT) and simulaton;
- Process automation via robotics/cobotics, additive manufacturing;
- Big-data and analytics;
- Immersive technologies (AR/VR/MR/Haptics);
- Artificial intelligence and machine learning; and
- Horizontal and vertical system integration, distributed ledger systems/blockchain technologies.
What technologies are not funded?
DTFF will not facilitate capital investment in the following which could be viewed more as ‘digitisation of existing operations’, rather than digital innovation/transformation:
- Website and e-commerce development,
- Social media strategies,
- Mobile marketing, paid advertising, blogging and content creation,
- Search engine optimisation,
- Purchase of IT equipment,
- Customer relationship management and,
- Non-industrial 3-D printing.
This list is not exhaustive and the DTFF Operations Team have the discretion to omit costs if deemed ineligible and/or not within scope of the project.
When does Call 4 Open for DTFF?
Funding Call 4 is expected to open in March 2025.
You can submit an Expression of Interest (EOI) now and we will contact you again once the Call opens if eligible for an Application.
If you have any questions please contact the Business Support team on email: [email protected] or Call 02871253253 ext 6667
Find out more here: www.dtff.co.uk
