Find out how the Trade show Access Programme (TAP) can help promote your business overseas, and how to apply for financial support.

Overview

The Trade show Access Programme provides funding in the form of grants for eligible businesses to attend overseas trade shows. The funding helps your business gain:

• market knowledge
• experience in attending and getting the most from overseas trade shows
• advice and support from trade experts

How the service works

The grants are based around the Tradeshow Access Programme Calendar of Supported Events 2015 to 2016 (MS Excel Spreadsheet, 42.8KB) with an appropriate accredited Trade Challenge Partner leading the UK’s involvement at each event. Businesses usually take part as a group, led by the trade challenge partner for that trade show.

What you’ll get

UKTI can offer grants to eligible businesses taking part in the programme. The grants must be matched by the business’s own expenditure on direct exhibiting costs, for example:

• exhibition space costs
• stand costs - including design, construction and stand dressing

In some cases grants may also be agreed to match against direct conference costs where the purpose of attending is to promote the business, for example:

• conference fees
• cost of preparing conference promotional material

Category	Current grant levels
Group exhibition (European location)	£1,500
Group exhibition (long haul)	£2,000
Group exhibition (typical high growth market)	£2,500

Grant levels may be subject to change. The trade challenge partner will confirm the level of grant available and inform you about any service or management fee charges before you sign up.

Eligibility

You can claim a maximum of 12 grants, but 6 of them must be taken in the following emerging and high growth markets:

• Brazil
• Mexico
• Malaysia
• South Korea
• China
• Qatar
• Thailand
• Taiwan
• Colombia
• Russia
• Turkey
• Egypt
• Saudi Arabia
• UAE
• India
• Singapore
• Vietnam
• Indonesia
• South Africa
• Hong Kong

To be eligible for a grant you must:

• be based in the UK (excluding Isle of Man or the Channel Islands)
• be a small or medium-sized enterprise, UK university, UK government funded centre of higher or further learning or UK government funded research organisation
• be either actively investigating export opportunities for your own business
• be a new exporter (exports accounting for no more than 25% of your turnover) or have exported for no more than 10 years
• be within the State Aid limit of €200,000 over any rolling 3 year period
• not receive any other public funds towards eligible costs for the grant you are applying for
• not have been fully committed to attend the event prior to seeking the grant

You must also be able to demonstrate that you are either:

• selling products or services which originate from the UK
• adding significant value to a product or service of non-UK origin

View the Tradeshow Access Programme Exhibitor Terms and Conditions (MS Word Document, 110KB)

How to apply

Applications for the Trade show Access Programme must be made 8 weeks before the start of the event.

To apply, contact the trade challenge partner organisation leading the trade show. You can get this information from the Tradeshow Access Programme Calendar of Supported Events 2015 to 2016 (MS Excel Spreadsheet, 42.8KB)

The trade challenge partner organisation will send you more information about the trade show, level of grant available and an application form. They will then make the grant application on your behalf to UKTI.

If you haven’t applied for a Trade show Access Programme grant before, the trade challenge partner organisation will contact a UKTI International Trade Adviser (ITA) to help you with your application. The UKTI adviser may contact you to discuss UKTI services that might also help you with exporting.

Further information

Contact your local UKTI international trade advisor for further information about the programme.