The Suffolk Business Board was established in May 2024 following the integration of New Anglia Local Enterprise Partnership functions into Suffolk County Council. It comprises representatives from business, education, the voluntary sector and local government.
Business Board members:
Chair: Mark Pendlington
Deputy Chair: Cllr Matthew Hicks, Suffolk County Council
Doug Field, East of England Co-Op
Oliver Paul, Suffolk Food Hall
Lisa Perkins, Tech East
Peter Brady, Orbital Global
Kelly Boosey, Oxford Innovation
Leanne Gittins, LME Recruitment
John Dugmore, Suffolk Chamber of Commerce
Tom Ball, Ipswich Town Football Club
Hannah Bloom, Suffolk Community Foundation
Paul Ager, Associated British Ports
Marek Hornak, University of Suffolk
Nikos Savvas, Eastern Education Group
Cllr Richard Smith MVO, Suffolk County Council
Cllr Andy Mellen, Mid Suffolk District Council
Cllr Neil MacDonald, Ipswich Borough Council
Suffolk Economy brings you a monthly round-up of current opportunities for Suffolk-based businesses, including funding, support and more. If you have an opportunity you’d like to share, please contact suffolk.economy@suffolk.gov.uk
UK Visa Fees Reimbursement Scheme Opens for Scale-up Employers
The UK Government has launched a programme to reimburse eligible visa application fees for UK-based scale-ups. It is a targeted scheme supporting scale-ups in the Clean Energy, Life Sciences and Digital & Technologies sectors, with the aim of reducing cost barriers to hiring internationally.
Eligible businesses can apply for up to £25,000 per year, with a cap of £5,000 for each international hire and their dependants. Awards will be made on a first-come, first-served basis.
The grant supports reimbursement of eligible visa fees incurred on or after 9 June 2026. Businesses must recruit through approved visa routes, including Skilled Worker, Global Talent and Scale Up visas. Applicants are also required to pass due diligence and assurance checks and hold a valid UK bank account for payments.
The scheme will reimburse eligible visa fees incurred on or after 9 June 2026.
Find out more and start your application here.
The deadline for applications is 1 March 2027
Nominet DNS Fund
The 2026 Nominet DNS fund is now open – an initiative dedicated to supporting the open source technologies that form the backbone of our digital infrastructure.
The fund aims to address the gaps caused by underfunded DNS projects – which can create systemic risks – exposing users to vulnerabilities.
Applications are invited from individuals and teams working on projects that advance or maintain open source DNS.
The deadline for applications is 17th August at 9am BST.
The Life Sciences Innovative Manufacturing Fund
The Life Sciences Innovative Manufacturing Fund (LSIMF) is a capital grants fund which aims to build resilience for future health emergencies and capitalise on the UK’s world-leading research and development capabilities. The fund will enhance and accelerate affordable access to mature, new and emerging Life Sciences products for both pandemic and non-pandemic scenarios.
LSIMF will provide up to £520 million in capital grants for investment in the manufacture of human medicines and medical technology (including diagnostics, and MedTech products).
This is a new fund from previous UK Government Life Sciences manufacturing funds.
LSIMF is open to all eligible companies, including previous manufacturing grant recipients, as long as the application is for a different project.
Projects with a total cost (including capital expenditure) of at least £8 million are eligible to apply.
The maximum intervention rate (ratio of grant to project costs) is 25%, with the typical intervention rate being 10-20% of your total project costs. For example, for a project with a total cost of £100m, the typical grant awarded might be £10-20m.
The closing date for this fund is 31 March 2030.
Our own Suffolk Economy grant programme is also open for applications.
You might be eligible for funding if…
Our priority areas for funding are digital transformation and adoption of new technologies, innovation and R&D, decarbonisation and sustainability.
All of the information and criteria is available on the Suffolk Economy website: Business Grants and Funding – Suffolk Economy
UKRI funding opportunities
UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) have a range of funding opportunities available, covering areas such as medical and biological sciences, astronomy, physics, chemistry and engineering, social sciences, economics, environmental sciences, and the arts and humanities. You can see the current funding opportunities, as well as available support, here.
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