Canva offers five £4,000 grants in UK and Ireland small business pitch challenge

Founders, freelancers and side-hustle operators have until July 12 to submit a Canva pitch, with mentorship, networking and promotional support also available.

Canva is assessing entries to its 2026 Small Business Pitch Challenge, with five UK and Ireland businesses set to receive £4,000 grants

Canva is accepting applications for its 2026 Small Business Pitch Challenge, offering five businesses across the UK and Ireland a £4,000 grant, one-to-one mentorship and an opportunity to hold an event at the design platform’s London headquarters.

The competition is open to UK and Ireland residents aged 18 and over who start, run, co-run or represent a small business, freelance operation, side hustle or creative idea with fewer than 50 employees.

Applications remain open until July 12. Entrants must use Canva to create a pitch deck, presentation, video or another visual format explaining their idea, business model and plans for growth.

A judging panel will assess the applications between July 13 and 19, with Canva due to announce the Top 100 businesses and up to five grant winners between July 20 and 26.

Each of the five winners will receive a £4,000 business grant, bringing the total funding available through the challenge to £20,000. The winner package also includes mentorship from industry figures, promotion through Canva’s channels and the opportunity to host a showcase event at Canva’s UK headquarters.

Businesses can enter at any stage of development

Applicants do not need to operate an established company. Canva says the challenge is open to businesses at different stages, including new ventures, side hustles, freelance businesses and creative concepts that have not yet developed into larger operations.

Entrants are asked to submit a link to a Canva design that communicates what they are building. Canva has provided a pitch template, although applicants can use another presentation or creative format.

Lorna Bladen, small and medium-sized business community manager at Canva, said in a LinkedIn post: "Community is at the heart of Canva, and we know how hard it can be to get your idea noticed. That's why we're giving founders the chance to pitch for funding, mentorship and national exposure through Canva."

Bladen described the challenge as an initiative intended to "help amplify small businesses across the UK and Ireland."

Judges will consider the strength of each idea, its potential for growth, the clarity of the pitch, the quality of its storytelling and how effectively applicants have used Canva to present their business.

Top 100 businesses will join founder network

The challenge includes support for businesses that do not receive one of the five grants.

Canva will recognize 100 applicants as its Top 100 Small Businesses. Those selected will be invited to an exclusive founder networking event and given opportunities to meet other entrepreneurs participating in the program.

The judging panel includes Bread & Jam festival co-founder and food entrepreneur Jason Gibb; RISER founder and CEO Lamees Butt; Faire Director of International Marketing and Partnerships Charlotte Broadbent; entrepreneur and keynote speaker Bejay Melunga MBE; Martha Brook and Business Secrets Club founder Martha Keith; Intuit Mailchimp Head of Social for Europe, the Middle East and Africa AJ Brinnand; and The Marketing Meetup co-founder Joe Glover.

The five eventual winners will receive individual mentorship alongside their grant and promotional package. Canva has not specified the duration or format of the mentorship arrangements.

All applicants receive founder resources

Canva is also providing resources to the wider group of applicants, including online startup sessions, practical tools for communicating their business story and access to a ready-to-use pitch template.

Applicants in the UK and Ireland who do not already subscribe to Canva Pro will be eligible to receive three months of the paid service after entering.

The challenge is being delivered with organizations and business figures working with founders and small companies. It follows Canva’s wider use of templates, visual communication products and digital content tools by entrepreneurs building pitches, marketing materials and online campaigns.

Judging will take place from July 13 to 19, before Canva announces the Top 100 businesses and five £4,000 grant recipients during the week beginning July 20.