LEO Priming Grant
Flagship Irish startup funding for newly trading businesses within their first 18 months, covering salary grants, specialized equipment, and marketing to stimulate sustainable employment.
Scheme Overview & Underwriting Criteria
The LEO Priming Grant is designed for micro-enterprises in their initial 18 months of trading that have demonstrated growth potential and export capability. It provides direct co-funding for new job creation, specialized machinery, and commercial marketing strategies.
Approved vs. Ineligible Expenditure Schedule
- •Direct salary support for new full-time positions created (up to €15,000 per job)
- •Specialized capital equipment and machinery directly required for production/delivery
- •Marketing campaigns, professional branding, and customer acquisition campaigns
- •Specialist consultancy and technical implementation services
- •General business overheads tied directly to business establishment
- •Standard consumer laptops, desktop computers, smartphones, and vehicles
- •Refinancing existing bank loans, credit lines, or debt settlements
- •Costs incurred before formal written approval of the Letter of Offer
- •Local service businesses that merely displace existing local competitors
- •VAT where the applicant is VAT registered
Required Documents & Assessor Submission Pack
Common Disqualification Red Flags
Assessor Underwriting Warning & Cashflow Timing
Salary support and capital outlays are reimbursed in tranches upon proof of expenditure and tax clearance. Laptops, phones, and vehicles are strictly excluded.
Test your venture against this grant in 60 seconds
Startup Preflight cross-references your concept canvas, headcount, location, and technical work packages against LEO Priming Grant underwriting criteria before you apply.