Creative Enterprise is a BFI Lottery funded programme offering business support programmes. We do ask all participants of support programmes to pay a very small participant fee, which varies depending on which programme you’re on.  Overall, the support you receive from each programme is valued at over £5,000 per person.   

Foundations – £150/company 

Scaling Up – £250/company 

Female Founders – £250/company 

Investment Readiness – £250/company 

*If this contribution affects your ability to participate in the programme, please speak to the team about how we can help. 

Foundations is for very early-stage companies – less than 2 years old who are just starting out (or who may not have started yet but plan on registering their business within the next 6 months) 

Scaling Up is for companies who have been going for 2 years+, who have launched a product, released a game/some content/made some revenues but now need to take the next step in their growth – towards recurring revenues, more staff, etc.. 

Female Founders is for female led scaling companies but is a personal development programme, focussed on the founder’s own growth and development. 

Investment Readiness is for companies ready to take their high growth potential to the next level with investment.  You will receive mentoring and 1:1 session over the course of 6 months, totally tailored to the needs of you and your business and be introduced to investors.   

Answer: Yes!  We understand the time commitment and headspace required for our cohort programmes, and not everyone can commit to that at the moment.  Don’t worry – Creative Enterprise is a three-year programme and will run until 2026.   

We have a virtual self-paced Screen Growth Course available for anyone interested in learning more about running and growing a screen business.

To find more free resources visit our Resource Hub. 

We will also have lots of free virtual workshops, seminars and networking events that anyone can attend over the course of the three years.  We also have lots of online resources on our website. Sign up to our newsletter to find out more.  

All of our programmes are funded by the BFI and National lottery, therefore the following criteria apply –  

• You must be based in England, and your company registered and trading in England. (For our Foundations programme, you do not have to be a registered company at the start of the programme, but you must commit to being registered by the end of the programme) If you are based in Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland, your application will automatically be declined.  
• You must create (or your service helps to create) narrative storytelling for screen. This can include film, TV, games, immersive content, creation of SaaS tools, exhibition, or distribution. This means that unfortunately we cannot support those who solely produce content without a narrative aspect, for example arcade/puzzle style games. 
• Your work must be freely available to the public, meaning we are unable to support those working exclusively in educational, corporate, or medical content. Those currently working in solely branded content will be considered if you retain any IP rights, or you are actively looking to move away from commercial content and form a more creative arm of your business.  

• You must be committed to the long term development of your company.  

All programme and grant applications will be reviewed at an assessment panel. We expect a large number of applicants for all of our programmes, therefore not all who are eligible will be successful. Your application will be assessed on the following areas –  

• Your eligibility  

• Your track record 
• Your ambition and potential to grow your business 
• Your needs and how they align with the support offered 
• The impact that the programme will have on your business 

We aim to let all applicants know the outcome within 4 weeks of applications closing. For some programmes, we may require a follow up call to find out a little more about your business and yourself, and how your needs align with our support. Due to the volume of applications, we regret that detailedfeedback on unsuccessful applications cannot be provided. 

Creative Enterprise is a BFI lottery funded programme delivered by Creative UK. Creative UK champions, connects, supports & invests in creative people & businesses.  Our mission is to connect, empower, invest in and support great ideas, champion brilliance and fight for the opportunity for all to thrive creatively.  

As a programme our aim is to be as accessible as possible: 

Applications for our programmes are submitted online via our online application portal.  Written and video applications are considered. 

All our programmes are a mixture of in person and online workshops.  Where in person meetings are required, we aim to give participants as much notice as possible and where we can, to avoid peak travel times.   

We offer up to £75/person travel subsidy if an in-person event is required. 

If you have any accessibility needs that aren’t referred to on specific programme pages, please contact the team to discuss how we can cater to your needs. 

Yes! 

You can email us at creativeenterprise@creativeengland.co.uk

Each member of the Creative Enterprise team also has availability for ‘Discovery Calls’ to answer any questions you have on the programme, 

Click here to see availability and to book a call.