Innovation loans for research and development projects we first mooted some time ago. It’s good to see that they are now official having been announced at Innovate2017 annual conference, hosted by Innovate UK in Birmingham last month.   The initial innovation fund is set at £50m to be allocated as loans under a pilot project over a two year period up to the end of 2019. It is for “small and medium enterprises (SMEs) involved in late-stage innovation projects”.   “A late-stage R&D project is one which builds on a new idea but has not yet reached the point of commercialisation.”   “It may include activities such as prototyping, demonstrating, piloting, testing and validation in environments that are representative of real-life operating conditions.”   Loans will be made by Innovate UK Loans Ltd and will be given to successful applicants at a very low interest rate as compared to most commercial loans.   The UK … [Read more...]