Creative business support and funding
Find advice, funding and skills support to start or grow your creative business in Northern Ireland.
Getting the right type of support can transform your creative business. This guide introduces the support options and initiatives that are available to creative businesses in Northern Ireland.
It highlights various advice, funding and skills support programmes and opportunities to help you start and grow your creative enterprise. Other areas of this website outline wider business support options and offer guidance on different types of finance for your business.
New startups can also access free business support from your local council. Contact them to get one-to-one advice from a business advisor and tailored guidance to develop your business plan.
Advisory support for creative businesses
Key sources of information and advice for businesses in the Northern Ireland creative industries.
Several organisations offer targeted advice for creative businesses.
Invest Northern Ireland
Invest NI offers a range of advisory support to businesses in the creative sector, including:
- research and development support
- intellectual property advice
- collaboration guidance
- skills development support
Northern Ireland Screen
NI Screen offers mainly funding and skills support for the film, television and digital content industry. However, they also:
- offer free information service - helping you with all aspects of filming in Northern Ireland, including budgeting, studios, crew, locations, permissions and services
- occasionally organise trade missions - giving individuals and businesses an opportunity to visit target markets and festivals at home and abroad
They also offer a range of education and work experience programmes for young people considering a career in the industry. Explore Northern Ireland Screen support.
Arts Council of Northern Ireland (ACNI)
ACNI provides specialist advice from Arts Development Officers on funding, project development and arts/creative programmes, and supports creative industries partnerships and community arts. Find out what ACNI support.
Arts & Business Northern Ireland
Arts & Business NI supports collaboration between business and the arts through advice, fundraising, learning and consultancy support. Find out more about Arts & Business NI membership.
Craft NI
Craft NI delivers programmes to support the craft sector and the makers of quality contemporary craft, including training opportunities, webinars and workshops aimed to help you establish a successful craft practice. Find out more about Craft NI's programmes.
Funding support for creative businesses
Sources of funding support for creative businesses in Northern Ireland.
If you're starting or growing a creative business, there may be funding options available to help you achieve your goals.
Northern Ireland business support finder
You can use our business support finder database to search online for available sources of funding and support.
Invest Northern Ireland support
You can also explore funding options from Invest NI, including:
- innovation, research and development funding, such as Innovation Vouchers
- capability development - including support with mentoring, consultancy and access to specialist knowledge
- intellectual property support, including financial assistance to carry out intellectual asset management audit and protect patents, trade marks and design
- a range of loans and equity funds
Northern Ireland Screen support
NI Screen offers various funding programmes across its economic, cultural and educational activities:
- development funding- includes script, project and slate development for feature films, television and digital content
- production funding - comes in the form of a recoupable loan and assists in completing budgets on productions which are almost fully financed
- short films schemes - aim to help emerging film makers
- skills fund - is a grant offered to individuals working in the Northern Ireland screen sector to support their training or development needs
- games funding - including project development and project production funding
Northern Ireland Screen also runs two cultural funds: the Irish Language Broadcast Fund and the Ulster-Scots Broadcast Fund. Explore Northern Ireland Screen support.
Arts Council NI
The Arts Council NI offers a broad range of funding opportunities for creative and arts organisations and individuals in Northern Ireland:
- find funding for organisations, including small grants programme, lottery project funding, music touring support and creative apprenticeships/internships programme
- find funding for individuals, including support for individual artist programme, travel awards, etc
Skills support for creative businesses
Sources of skills support and development for creative businesses in Northern Ireland.
Developing up-to-date knowledge and skills is important to all businesses, since it can improve their competitiveness, boost business performance and profitability.
Invest Northern Ireland skills support
Invest NI offers skills and training support to local businesses to help them develop:
You can also get HR advice from Invest NI as well as training support through workshops, mentoring and various skills development programmes.
Northern Ireland Screen
Northern Ireland Screen actively supports both businesses and individuals through training, skills development and funding programmes, including:
- skills fund
- company placements
- training and workshops
- the Pixel Mill
These demonstrate Northern Ireland Screen's ongoing commitment via their 2025-2029 strategy: Stories, Skills and Sustainability. Find out more about Northern Ireland Screen skills support programme.
Sector skills support
ScreenSkills (previously known as Creative Skillset) is the industry-led skills body for the UK's screen-based industries - animation, film, games, television, VFX and immersive technology. It helps develop skills and talent in organisations and individuals across the creative industries.
Networking for creative businesses in Northern Ireland
Key networks, events and strategies to connect, collaborate and grow your creative business.
Networking helps Northern Ireland creative businesses find collaborators, clients and new markets. It gives you an opportunity to join established groups or attend targeted events to build relationships and share expertise.
There is a wealth of organisations in Northern Ireland actively supporting creative connections:
- the Northern Ireland Chamber of Commerce
- Invest Northern Ireland
- the Federation of Small Businesses
- the Institute of Directors
- Women in Business
- Young Enterprise Northern Ireland
- Arts & Business Northern Ireland
Find out how to get involved in Northern Ireland business networks.
Collaborative networking can be particularly helpful to creative businesses to help improve business performance, products and staff skills and win new business. Read about business growth through collaboration.
Networking beyond Northern Ireland
Digital Knowledge Transfer Network (KTN) is a UK-wide network that provides a place for creative innovators to meet, share ideas and shape the future. It promotes funding and collaboration opportunities and delivers insights into technology trends and developments.
European Creative Business Network assists creative entrepreneurs to do business together across Europe and find new markets. Trade shows, conferences, seminars and networking events organised by trade associations, professional bodies and business support organisations also offer a good opportunity to meet new contacts and network.
Trade shows, conferences, seminars and networking events organised by trade associations, professional bodies and business support organisations also offer a good opportunity to meet new contacts and network.
Finally, new technologies are increasingly enabling new ways of networking for businesses, so consider online platforms like LinkedIn creative groups, Discord servers for games developers, and Behance for design portfolios to tap into networking opportunities right across the globe.
Finding support and funding for my creative business - Jude Cassidy (video)
Award-winning textile designer Jude Cassidy talks about finding support and funding to grow her creative business.
Award-winning textile designer Jude Cassidy, owner of Jude Cassidy Textiles, explains how finding the right advisory and financial support has helped her start and grow a successful creative business.
From her Saintfield design studio, Jude supplies bespoke hand-woven textiles to the luxury interiors market. Since launching her business in 2010, she has taken part in many local business support and funding programmes, including those of the Arts Council Northern Ireland, Craft NI and Invest Northern Ireland.
In this video, Jude highlights the importance of identifying and pursuing the right funding and support to help you start and scale your creative business.