Funding For Your Business

Broadly, finance providers for small business can be broken down into four distinct categories

• Credit Institutions - e.g. Banks, Credit Unions etc                                                         
• Government Supports - e.g. LEO Grants, Microfinance Ireland Loans, etc. 

• Non Bank Commercial Lenders - e.g. Linked Finance, Bibby, Close Bros, Grenke  etc

• Competitions & Programmes - Competitive Start Fund, Small Business Awards, Entrepreneur of the Year etc. 

All of them have separate eligibility criteria, terms and conditions etc. so you should do your own research to see what the feasible options are for your business.

Banks 

Irrespective of where you go for finance, it is important for every small business to establish a banking relationship for their business.  It is very difficult to operate a business in Ireland without a Business Bank account.

For example, making payments to suppliers or taking customer payments is typically done directly by way of Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT).

The good news is that many of the Banks offer special packages aimed particularly at Start-Up Businesses with usually reduced fees, interest etc for a finite period.  Check out all of the Banks' websites to see what offers are available. 

Government Supports 

There are many different Government supports for Irish start-ups and small businesses. 

The below video shows how to apply for a Microfinance Ireland loan, by following the journey an average Microfinance Ireland customer will take from start to finish when applying for a loan.

Non-Bank Commercial Lenders 

There are a huge number of non-Bank commercial lenders in Ireland.

Many of these are primarily aimed at more established businesses that have been trading for at least 2 years or providing asset finance for vehicles, equipment by way of leasing etc.

If you go down this route, make sure you examine the terms and conditions attached to the product closely, so you know up-front what you are signing up to 

Competitions & Programmes 

There is a very strong entrepreneurial culture in Ireland, which is borne out by the number of competitions and programmes aimed at entrepreneurs and small businesses. 

However, what is not as obvious is the fact that many of these programmes have significant prize funds for the lucky winners which can be extremely beneficial, especially for fledgling businesses that are focussed on bigger and better things. 

In addition, many of these competitions offer coaching and mentoring to develop and hone the skills of the promoter 

So what makes Microfinance Ireland different? 

Microfinance Ireland does not compete with Banks or other lending providers in the market.

As a not-for-profit and award-winning lending organisation, MFI is unique in that by offering unsecured loan finance up to €25,000 at affordable pricing to small businesses who may be having difficulty in securing finance for their business from Banks and other commercial lending providers. 

The micro-enterprise sector, in particular Start-Ups, is a difficult sector for Banks to lend to due to lack of experience, insufficient or no collateral and often coupled with legacy debt issues.

MFI supports small businesses, enabling jobs to be created, and helping people fulfil their business dreams.

MFI provides business loans from €2,000 to €25,000 to Start-Ups and Existing Businesses for set-up costs, working capital, or business expansion, with terms of between 3 and 5 years, with the aim of supporting the creation and retention of jobs.

The interest rate is fixed over the period of the loan and there are no fees or charges

Check our Loan Calculator to see how much an MFI loan would cost on a monthly basis 

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