GamesCom

Tiga, the UKs game developer trade body, today announced it has partnered with UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) to help them promote the grant support that is available for Small & Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs) exhibiting at GamesCom in Cologne starting 19 August 2009.

The funding, provided by UKTIs Tradeshow Access Programme (TAP) is set at 1,000 per SME and can be available for exhibitors at Gamescom if they are new to export or have been exporting for less than 10 years or if they have not attended the previous edition of the event.

All interested companies looking to gain funding can now contact Tiga for a TAP application form.

Richard Wilson, Tiga CEO said: We are delighted to be able to offer this benefit to our members. We hope this kind of funding assistance will make it possible for more UK developers to showcase their expertise to the global gaming community.

The deadline for completed application forms is Friday 26th June 2009. Please contact Nisha Valand, Head of Member Services on (0) 845 0941095 or nisha@tiga.org for further information and an application form.

Ends

Notes to editors:

1. UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) will, at its discretion, provide support for eligible businesses taking part in overseas exhibitions between 1 April 2009 and 31 March 2010.

2. A central principle of this, and all UKTI grants, is that it should make something happen that would not happen otherwise.

3. Each eligible business is entitled to exhibit with grant support on a total of six occasions counted from 1 April 2009.

4. ATOs will help those businesses approved for grant to participate effectively in an exhibition and International Trade Teams in UKTIs regional network will also help these businesses, where appropriate.

5. Participating businesses are expected to take up any offers of non-chargeable assistance made in this context.

About Tiga:

Tiga is the national trade association that represents games developers in the UK and in Europe. We have 150 members, the majority of whom are either independent games developers or in-house publisher owned developers. We also have outsourcing companies, technology businesses and universities amongst our membership.

Tiga's vision is to make the UK the best place in the world to do games business. We focus on three sets of activities: political representation, generating media coverage and developing services that enhance the competitiveness of our members. This means that Tiga members are effectively represented in the corridors of power, their voice is heard in the media and they receive benefits that make a material difference to their businesses, including a reduction in costs and improved commercial opportunities.

For further information, please contact: Please contact Nisha Valand, Head of Member Services on (0) 845 0941095 or nisha@tiga.org.