Investment Criteria
Applications to the Finance for Business: Commercialisation Fund will be considered for their suitability based on the criteria listed below:
- Commercial potential of the idea: the assessment will be concerned with the market size and the market need to be addressed by the idea or innovation.
- Level of technical and commercial risks: their impact on the timeframe and outcome of the project will be considered.
- Novelty and innovation of the project: the assessment will consider points of differentiation and the likely impact upon the industry or sector.
- Exploitation prospects: the assessment will focus strongly on the exploitation strategy which should clearly present the proposed route(s) to market, including an outline of the market channels.
- Barriers to entry: the assessment will take into account intellectual property (IP) already secured and IP resulting from the project as well as other barriers to entry including know-how or specialist skills and expertise.
- Project viability: applications should provide a credible outline plan which shows that the innovation can be commercialised within 24 months from award date for a Phase 1 application or 12 months for a Phase 2 application.
- Repayment potential: the probability and timeframe within which the project is likely to repay will be considered during the assessment.
- Management abilities: the skills and expertise required will be assessed against those of the management team as will recruitment plans to address skills gaps.
