TAP Funding


Financial Support through the UK Trade & Investment sponsored Trade Access Programme

** The below information is updated to apply to events taking place from 1 April 2011 to 31st March 2012**

There is currently financial support available to companies that participate in some EIC managed exhibition groups taking place outside the UK.

This is through the UK Trade & Investment sponsored Trade Access Programme or TAP (formerly SESA or IBS).

For the exhibitions covered by TAP funding, the grants will be administered on a first come first served basis and are not guaranteed.

UK registered companies which meet the eligibility criteria will be eligible for a fixed grant of either £1,000, £1,400 or £1,800.

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The following flow chart will show if you are eligible:

Tradeshow Access Programme (TAP) - 2011 - 2012 Eligibility Criteria
(to be read in conjuction with the TAP Terms & Conditions

Tradeshow Access Programme (TAP) – 2011-12 Eligibility Criteria (To be read in conjunction with the TAP Terms & Conditions)

Definition for Small and Medium Sized Enterprise
Has less than 250 employees.

Has an annual turnover not exceeding € 50m, or an annual balance sheet total not exceeding € 43m.

Is independent, i.e. not more than 25 % of its capital or voting rights are owned by one enterprise, or jointly by several enterprises, which fail to meet any of the above points at a and b, although this threshold may be exceeded in the following two cases:

(i) if the business is held by public investment corporations, venture capital companies or institutional investors, provided no control is exercised either individually or jointly over it;

(ii) if the capital is spread in such a way that it is not possible to determine by whom it is held and the business can legitimately declare that 25% or more of it is not owned by one enterprise or jointly by several nterprises falling outside the definition of a SME.

Definition for New Exporter

During the past 12 months less than 10% of turnover resulted from proactive exports (i.e. sales to new overseas customers that have been actively identified by the business) and no more than 25% of turnover resulted from a combination of proactive and reactive exports. (Reactive exports would normally result from unplanned approaches from potential overseas customers and from UK-based third parties, or from overseas responses to UK-focused web sites).