The Welsh Government is committed to helping young people in Wales under the age of 25, reach their potential with support to gain a place in education, training, help to get into work or become self-employed.
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About the grant
The Young Person's Start Up Grant has been developed as part of our commitment to the Young Person's Guarantee. To make sure we understand the needs of young entrepreneurs, we have held conversations with young people through the Youth Voice and our Youth Agents who told us that accessing finance, business knowledge and confidence remain key constraints to starting a business.
Big Ideas Wales want to help you overcome these challenges and will play a key part in delivering support for young people to become self-employed. This will help you learn about business, work with an adviser to prepare for self-employment and potentially access a financial grant to help you start up.
The Young Person’s Start Up Grant will be available up to 2025 to enable young people not in education, employment or training to start their own business, create a social enterprise, become self-employed, a freelancer or social entrepreneur in Wales.
A grant of up to £2,000 is available to help young people starting a business. To ensure the business has the best possible chance to succeed, the grant will be available alongside a package of support that will include one-to-one advice, webinars to build confidence in business practices and develop plans for starting a business.
The package of support has defined learning phases so that young people can join at the stage best suited to their needs and allows them to progress at their own pace. So whether you need intensive support to get started or longer-term support to help think through and develop your business ideas, an adviser can talk through your needs and advise you on the best path; or a lighter touch that guides you through to launching your business.
Who can apply
A grant of up to £2,000 is available to help young people under the age of 25, living or returning to Wales to become self-employed. The business case will need to demonstrate that it has the potential to become the main source of income.
- Applicants will be asked to evidence their current status and meet one of the following criteria:
- A young person who is unemployed and / or not in education or training
- A young person currently working part time (under 18 hours) that has an intention to become full time self-employed.
A young person still in education but intends to become self-employed within 3 months of completing your course. You can register with Big Ideas Wales to access a tailored business support package and apply for the grant on completion of studies.
More detailed information can be viewed on our Young Person’s Start Up Grant guidance page.
Please view the Young Person's Start Up Grant guidance notes before starting your application.
Not quite ready or need help? Speak to a Big Ideas Wales advisor