EnSpire Founder Grants
EnSpire Founder Grants: up to £1,000 to help early-stage Oxford startup teams take their next step.
Delivered by EnSpire Oxford.
Programme Overview
EnSpire Founder Grants provide up to £1,000 to support early-stage startup teams in taking their next step, whether that's building a prototype, developing a website, or meeting potential clients.
Applications are reviewed by an EnSpire panel. Successful applicants sign an agreement setting out their responsibilities — acknowledging EnSpire, attending check-in meetings, submitting project reports, and returning any unused funding — and receive an initial £500.
After spending the funding on the agreed activity, applicants attend a check-in meeting four to five months later and submit a project report at six to seven months. Submitting that report triggers the request for the further £500, with a new budget, and the cycle begins again. Maximum funding is £1,000 per applicant, across two project reports and a minimum of two check-in meetings.
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Founder Grants are for those who need a small amount of grant funding to refine and validate their idea or build their MVP.
Founder Grants are open to the University of Oxford community, including undergraduate students, postgraduates and DPhils, researchers and staff, and alumni.
Founder Grants are application-based, with applications reviewed by the EnSpire team. Fifty per cent of available funding is reserved for founders from under-represented groups.
Applicants on an international student visa are required to have an in-person meeting with the EnSpire team before their application is reviewed, to ensure they understand the limitations on the activity they can undertake under their visa conditions.
Dates: Year-round, rolling until funding is spent.
Application opens for AY 2026/27 on 1 October 2026.
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