Access to COVID-19 Financial Support:The Experiences of SMEs in Scotland

The aim of this report is to provide insight into the experiences of SMEs in accessing funding packages and any benefits gained from funds received during the pandemic in Scotland. It assesses the Scottish Government’s approach to distributing funding and analyses the effectiveness of these approaches from the perspectives of SMEs and enterprise support organisations. To achieve this aim, this report has three objectives:- To provide an overview of the financial support available to SMEs, the strategic purpose of these funds, understand the target beneficiaries, the conditions for accessing grants, and where possible any reported outcomes of funds which have been distributed.- To provide insight from the intermediaries that support SMEs, including public agencies in charge with distributing funding, as well as third sector support organisations that worked to support SME owners during the pandemic.- To provide an understanding into the beneficiaries - the SMEs faced with running businesses during the pandemic and their experiences of accessing COVID-19 related funding