As the winter months approach, you might already be looking ahead to the sometimes–sunny NAMM Show in January and thinking about your overseas business trips planned for 2025. Financial planning is a big part of that, so now might be a good time to talk about funding.
Where’s that money gone that I used to get?
Ah, you’re likely thinking of the Tradeshow Access Programme (TAP) – a government initiative that provided grants to eligible businesses to help them exhibit at overseas trade shows. The MIA used to act as an intermediary between the government and MI companies, facilitating grants for events like Musikmesse (when it existed!), Music China, and The NAMM Show. TAP
grants were paid by the government to trade bodies (us), which then passed them on to businesses in their industry (you).
However, the programme was withdrawn in June 2023, and applications for support have closed. The government has stated that they remain committed to supporting exports, and they are currently “working to understand what form future support will take.” Unfortunately, there is no like–for–like replacement for TAP. For a while, there was the Internationalisation Fund, another grant programme from the Department for International Trade, aimed at helping small and medium–sized enterprises in England enhance their international trade performance in various ways.
Unlike TAP, the Internationalisation Fund allowed grants to be used for a broader range of activities, such as market research, intellectual property advice, translation services, international social media and SEO, and, of course, trade fairs. The fund provided match–funded grants of up to £9,000, with businesses required to cover a portion of the costs themselves,
typically around 40–50%. Unfortunately, this fund also closed for applications in January 2023.
So, is there any financial support available for attending or exhibiting at trade shows?
At the MIA, we maintain close contact with the newly formed Department for Business & Trade, which resulted from the merger of the Department for International Trade (DIT) and the Department for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy (BEIS). We have several contacts within the department and continue to advocate for support on behalf of our members.
Government support for attending or exhibiting at trade shows is currently highly fragmented, and it can feel like a bit of a postcode lottery. Some members have had success securing local support and funding, while others have not. As an example we are aware that there is some funding currently available for companies in West & North Yorkshire, and we would encourage anybody in that area to contact us for more information.
There are a few local avenues that could be worth exploring, not only to see if they have any available funding, but also to build valuable relationships. If you’d like to learn more about how some MIA members have successfully secured support and funding for trade show attendance or exhibitions, please feel free to contact Alice at alice@mia.org.uk, who can tell you more.