Microsoft Startup - Office 365 Free License

Question

Hi,

We're a startup looking to make use of the startup program described at : https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/startups

We've followed the instructions and have been allocated £150 azure credits, but I was under the impression we'd also get 12 months of Office 365 Business included? I don't see anywhere to set this up, if I click on 'Office 365' admin I get the error :

Switch to an account that has permission

Your account doesn't have permission to view or manage this page

Login is not supported for consumer users without business presence.

Which I believe is due to the fact that no tenant has been created.

Is there anyone who can help with this please?

Answer 1

If the Microsoft 365 Business Premium benefit is available for the startup account, it appears in the Benefits section of the Microsoft for Startups portal. To check and activate it:

1. Sign in to the Microsoft benefits/reseller portal.
2. Open the Microsoft for Startups program page.
3. Open the Benefits tab.
4. Look for Microsoft 365 Business Premium.

For eligible startups in the Investor Network, the offer is 50 seats of Microsoft 365 Business Premium for 12 months.

If the benefit is not listed, it has not been provisioned to the account. In that case, confirm eligibility or contact support for assistance.

The admin center error is consistent with the Microsoft 365 benefit not being activated yet. After activation, a credit card is required for identity verification and to prevent service interruption when the benefit ends, and the country selected for Microsoft 365 registration must match the country of the credit card.

If the benefit is already listed but activation fails, try again and then contact support through the startup portal at https://aka.ms/startuphelp-mfs-portal.

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References:

• Microsoft 365