Winning grant funding for product development is hard. Really hard. Innovate UK's flagship Smart Grant funded just 46 projects out of 1,645 applications in its September 2024 round, a success rate of 2.8%. So when a business wins, it's worth celebrating.

Then reality lands. You've got a fixed budget, a set of legally binding deliverables, and a funder watching every milestone. The money is only useful if you can actually build the thing you promised, to the standard you promised, without blowing the budget.

That's the gap our new partnership closes. Grantbank helps you win the funding. Untapped helps you build the product. Two specialist teams, one clear path from application to launch, so the money you win turns into something you can actually use.

Why grant funding for product development is harder than it looks

The odds are brutal, and they're getting tougher. Across most Innovate UK competitions, success rates sit somewhere between single digits and low double figures, and the flagship Smart Grant dropped to 2.8% before it was paused for review. Winning at all is an achievement.

Low odds are only the first hurdle. Plenty of strong ideas never make it into an application because the process feels daunting and the time cost is high. According to the government's UK Innovation Survey, around 3% of businesses reported receiving financial support from central government for innovation in 2025, down from 4% in 2023. Good projects are going unfunded.

The money that is available doesn't always get claimed either. A Freedom of Information request found that Innovate UK's 2025 Innovation Loans left £71.7m of a £100m fund unspent. Funders want to back good work. The barrier is getting a winning application in front of them.

Then comes the part almost nobody plans for. Winning is the start line, not the finish. You now have to deliver a real product against a proposal written months earlier, on a budget that can't move, with a funder expecting evidence at every stage.

This is where funded projects stall. Scope drifts away from the proposal. The build gets underestimated and the budget runs short. A delivery partner who has never worked to grant conditions misses milestones or can't produce the evidence a funder wants. And if you don't deliver what you promised, funders can claw the money back. The funding you fought for becomes a liability instead of a launchpad.
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What Grantbank brings: grant application writing that actually wins

Grantbank exists to make funding easier and fairer to access. They've helped businesses win over £50m in grants, and they do it by matching you with a writer who already knows your sector, not a generalist working from a template.

You speak directly to the person doing the work. No layers, no account-manager telephone game. Their team uses AI to speed up research and admin, but the strategy stays human-led, which is exactly how it should be for something this high stakes. When the person writing your application understands your technology, the case they make to a funder is sharper and more credible.

Their grant application writing covers the programmes that matter most for innovative UK companies, including Innovate UK, the EIC Accelerator, NIHR i4i and Innovation Loans and many more. These are competitive, non-dilutive funding routes, so the money is yours to build with. You keep your equity and you keep control.

The whole model is built around fairness and access. Instead of gatekeeping, they help you understand whether you have a real shot before you sink weeks into an application, which saves the wasted effort that puts so many businesses off applying at all.
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What Untapped brings: enterprise-grade product development, sensibly priced

We're a full-service digital agency based in London, working across digital product, e-commerce, health tech and brand. We've spent years building products that have to perform in the real world, not just look sharp in a pitch deck.

This is the half of the story most grant winners underestimate. Product development for startups and scaleups isn't only design and code. It's scoping the build so it maps to what you promised the funder, hitting milestones, and holding quality when the budget won't stretch.

Enterprise-grade means the work stands up to scrutiny: secure, scalable, and built to last beyond the funding period. That matters when a funder is checking your progress, and it matters even more when your product has to keep working once the grant money is spent.

Because we handle strategy, design and engineering under one roof, there's no gap between what gets promised and what gets built. That single point of accountability is exactly what a funder wants to see. We deliver that standard at prices built for a grant-funded project, so your funding goes further and buys more than a prototype that falls over at the first real test. If you want to see how we work, take a look at the way we build software.
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How grant funding for product development works in practice

Grant funding for product development works best when one team wins the money and another builds the product, with no gap in between. This partnership gives you exactly that. Grantbank secures the funding, Untapped delivers the build, and you get a single path from eligibility check to finished product.

Here is how it runs across the two teams:

1. Check your eligibility. Grantbank works out which programmes you're a fit for and whether it's worth your time.
2. Win the funding. A sector-matched writer builds your application around a project that's both fundable and buildable.
3. Build the product. Untapped delivers the work to spec, on budget, and to the standard your funder expects.
4. Maximise the outcome. A well-delivered project protects your funding, keeps your funder onside, and sets you up for the next round.

The value is in the join. Most businesses lose time and money in the handover between a grant writer and a builder who don't know each other's work. Removing that handover is the point of the whole thing.

If you're already a Grantbank customer, you now have a product development partner who can deliver enterprise-grade work at reasonable prices. If you're an Untapped client, you have direct access to one of the best grant application companies in the UK, with a track record of raising funds for startups and enterprises alike.
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Which grants and projects this fits

This partnership is built for companies whose funding depends on building something real: software, platforms, prototypes, connected products. If your grant exists to fund research and development that ends in a working product, you're exactly who we set this up for.

On the funding side, Grantbank covers the major UK and European innovation programmes, including:

• Innovate UK grants and Innovation Loans for late-stage research and development.
• The EIC Accelerator, part of Horizon Europe, for startups and SMEs with a standout, innovative product and the ambition to scale.
• NIHR i4i Product Development Awards for health technology moving toward the market.

On the build side, we work across digital product, B2C and health tech, which lines up neatly with the projects these programmes tend to fund. If your idea sits in that space, the two halves fit together without forcing anything. Not sure whether your project fits? That's the first thing Grantbank will help you work out, before you commit any real time to it.
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What good delivery looks like on a grant-funded build

Funders don't just hand over money and walk away. They expect progress, evidence and a product that matches the proposal. Getting that right is a skill in itself, and it's where the right development partner earns their keep.

Good delivery starts with scope. Your build has to map to the milestones and outcomes you promised in the application, so the work you do is the work you get paid for. Drift here is what triggers awkward conversations with a funder later.

It also means building evidence as you go. Funders want to see demonstrable progress at each stage, so a partner who documents decisions, tracks milestones and can point to real products they've delivered keeps your reporting clean and your relationship healthy.

Fixed budgets are the norm with grants, and they don't forgive surprises. We plan for that by scoping tightly and flagging risks early, so you're never caught between a funder's deadline and a bill you didn't expect.

And it means building for the day after the grant runs out. A prototype that only survives the funding period isn't much use. We build products that keep performing once the money is spent, so your funding creates something that lasts rather than something you have to rescue.
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Why Will and Bankole built this

This partnership happened because the two halves belong together. Bankole at Grantbank sees brilliant companies win funding, then struggle to turn it into a finished product. We at Untapped see companies who could build almost anything, held back only by the funding to do it.

Put those two problems next to each other and the answer is obvious. So we worked hard to get this over the line, because it's genuinely right for both sets of clients, not because it made a neat announcement.

We're both founder-led businesses that talk to people like people. You'll get straight answers, realistic timelines, and two teams who actually want your project to succeed. We've both grown our businesses without shortcuts, and we've both seen how much good work never happens because one piece of the puzzle is missing. Joining forces means fewer good ideas fall into that gap.
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Turn your funding into something real

Grant funding for product development only works when both halves come together: a winning application and a build that delivers. Win without a plan to deliver and the money creates pressure. Deliver without the funding and the idea stays on the shelf.

This partnership gives you both, from the first eligibility check to the final launch. Fewer handovers, less risk, and a much better chance of your funding doing what it was meant to do. One conversation gets both halves moving.

If funding could move your product forward, start by checking your eligibility with Grantbank at grantbank.co.uk, or talk to us at Untapped about the build. We'll take it from there.

Do you have to pay grant funding back?

In most cases, no. Grants are usually non-dilutive funding, which means you don't repay them and you don't give up equity. That's what makes them so valuable, and also why they're so competitive. Always check the terms of the specific programme, as some routes like innovation loans work differently.

What is the success rate of an Innovate UK grant?

It varies by competition, but it's low. Success rates often sit between single digits and low double figures, and Innovate UK's flagship Smart Grant fell to 2.8% in its September 2024 round. A strong, sector-specific application makes a real difference to your odds.

Can grant funding be used for product development and software builds?

Yes, and often that's the whole point. Many innovation grants fund the research and development needed to build a new product, prototype or platform. The key is scoping the build so it maps cleanly to what you promised in your application.

What happens after you win a grant?

You move from writing to delivering. You'll have defined milestones, a fixed budget and reporting obligations to your funder. This is the stage where a capable development partner matters most, because the funding is only as good as what you build with it.

How do Untapped and Grantbank work together?

Grantbank handles the funding side, from eligibility through to a winning application. Untapped handles the build, delivering your product to the standard and budget your funder expects. You get one connected path instead of two separate suppliers.

How much does it cost to build a grant-funded product?

It depends on the scope, but the goal is always to make your funding go as far as possible. We scope the build to your budget and milestones from the start, so there are no surprises and your grant covers what it needs to. Talk to us and we'll give you a realistic picture before you commit.

Is grant funding better than raising investment?

It's not better or worse, it's different. Grant funding is non-dilutive, so you keep your equity and control, but it's competitive and tied to specific projects. Investment gives you flexibility and larger sums but costs you ownership. Many companies use grants alongside investment, and this partnership helps you make the most of the grant side.

How do I get started?

Check your eligibility with Grantbank to see which programmes fit your project. If you already have funding or want to talk through the build, get in touch with Untapped. Either way, you'll be working with a partnership built to handle both halves.