Celtar Update – Enterprise Ireland’s Current Support

It’s not the best of times for Enterprise Ireland, the Irish state’s lead body for supporting businesses from SMEs to prospective Irish MNCs. Rightly there is a focus on support for exporting companies, though there is less concern shown about import substitution.

Below is a list of supports plus relevant links to the EI website

Billy Linehan, MD of Celtar Ltd, business and management consultants

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Enterprise Ireland offers a number of categories of funding designed to help expand business and grow exports: –

Enterprise Stabilisation Fund http://www.enterprise-ireland.com/AboutUs/Organisation/Enterprise+Stabilisation+Fund.htm

An initiative aimed at viable but vulnerable internationally trading companies to help them survive the current global downturn by supporting their drive to reduce costs and gain sales in overseas markets and to sustain employment.   Sustainable economic recovery will be driven by enterprises focused on increasing their exports of innovative products and services in global markets.

Funding to explore new ideas/new markets http://www.enterprise-ireland.com/Grow/Finance/FundingforExploringNewOpportunities.htm

Preliminary funding to explore new ideas/new markets, including feasibility studies (ordinary, CORD, GreenTech Support, EU 7th Framework), recruitment of a key manager, assistance towards hiring a business mentor, attendance at trade fairs, market research and consultancy (strategic and GreenTech Support consultancy), and training which includes the supply chain management initiative.

Funding for Start Up companies http://www.enterprise-ireland.com/Grow/Finance/Standardhighpotentialstartupcompany.htm

The High Potential Start Up package matches the financial needs of a new company, by providing finance as the business gets started and by sharing the risk.

Growth Funding http://www.enterprise-ireland.com/Grow/Finance/Growth+Fund.htm

The Growth Fund is designed to assist SME clients to achieve greater competitiveness by improving their export potential.  This will be achieved by increasing both their gross output and gross productivity, while also providing new employment or maintaining existing employment levels.  There are 3 components to the offer:

R&D Offer

The R&D funding supports market-led innovation in manufacturing and services companies. The offer has five elements designed to support manufacturing and services companies;

Aimed at companies that are new to product, process and service development activities, these financial supports, including the R&D Stimulation Grant, allow companies to explore how research & innovation can drive their future development.

The R&D Fund: Small Projects is a provision under the R&D Fund to support product, process or service project R&D where the expenditure amount is less than €150,000.  This may be companies undertaking R&D for the first time or companies progressing R&D activity in the business.

Supporting innovation in services, products and processes.
Companies that are ready to progress to larger projects or want to set their own research agenda can apply to Enterprise Ireland’s R&D fund which supports market-led innovation in manufacturing and services companies.

Companies can also get funding for collaborative research projects with other companies.

Support for activities outlined in an expanding company’s business plan, e.g. investment in capital equipment, job creation, recruitment of key managers, training/management development and R&D.