1. Overview
The Youth Business Scotland (formerly the Prince's Scottish Youth Business Trust) offers finance and support to young people living in Scotland to help them set up and run their own business. They can help if you're aged between 18 and 25 (or up to 30 if you have a disability), are planning or already running your own business and are unable to get funding from anyone else.
2. YBS support and funding
Youth Business Scotland offers a wide range of services to help young people set up and run their own business.
Grants and loans
Youth Business Scotland offers a range of grants and loans, including:
- start-up grants of up to £1,000
- test marketing grants of up to £250 to help you carry out market research to test the viability of your business idea
- low-interest loans of up to £5,000
- development loans of up to £10,000 to help grow existing businesses that have already received Youth Business Scotland funding
- accelerator loans of up to £25,000 to fund major development and high growth Youth Business Scotland supported businesses
Help, advice and support
Youth Business Scotland can also provide you with:
- pre-start training and advice
- business planning advice
- a business mentor for at least two years
- networking opportunities with other young businesses
- bookkeeping training and a free bookkeeping system
- opportunities to attend exhibitions and events
- access to business competitions
- PR opportunities
You can find out more on the Youth Business Scotland website.
3. Apply for support from Youth Business Scotland
Applications for grants and loans from Youth Business Scotland are considered by regional committees who make the decisions on awards. If you want to apply for financial help, you'll have to submit a business plan and attend a panel interview. Youth Business Scotland will help you to prepare for your interview.
Meeting the minimum criteria for support doesn't always mean you'll be accepted. However, most applications are successful at the interview stage.
You can contact Youth Business Scotland on Tel 0141 248 4999, or contact your regional office:
- Argyll and Islands - Tel 0141 204 4409
- Ayrshire - Tel 0845 634 6091
- Borders - Tel 0845 634 6098
- Dumfries and Galloway - Tel 0845 634 6093
- Dunbartonshire - Tel 0845 634 6094
- Edinburgh - Tel 0845 634 6083
- Fife - Tel 0845 634 6092
- Forth Valley - Tel 0845 634 6084
- Glasgow - Tel 0845 634 6085
- Grampian - Tel 0845 634 6089
- Highlands - Tel 0845 634 6095
- Inverclyde - Tel 0845 634 6087
- Lanarkshire - Tel 0845 634 6090
- Outer Hebrides - Tel 0845 634 6096
- Orkney and Shetland - Tel 0845 634 6086
- Paisley and Renfrew - Tel 0845 634 6082
- Tayside - Tel 0845 634 6081
- West Lothian - Tel 0845 634 6088
You can also contact Youth Business Scotland via their online contact form.
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