Image: © Kaleb/Stock.adobe.com
Dublin city is looking for a few more good entrepreneurs.
The Local Enterprise Office (LEO) in Dublin city said it has awarded €6.17m to start-ups and SMEs since it was formed in April 2014.
“The work we do promotes job creation in Dublin city year-round,” said Greg Swift, head of enterprise and economic development at the Dublin LEO. “Just last month, for example, we awarded almost €240,000 to 14 businesses, supporting 25 jobs.”
‘A new year is a time for action, and there may be lots of budding and existing entrepreneurs out there, hatching plans for growth in the months to come’
– GREG SWIFT
Recently, Siliconrepublic.com revealed that €2.25m of its overall funding since 2014 went specifically to tech sector businesses.
Open for business
Swift said that the reveal of the full amount of €6.17m in funding across all sectors was engineered to encourage more entrepreneurs, start-ups and SMEs to avail of the supports provided by the office.
Grant types awarded include feasibility, priming, business expansion, trading online vouchers and technical assistance for micro-exporters (TAME).
“We’re delighted to have supported 944 businesses since 2014. The funding we’ve awarded helps these businesses to expand into new markets, grow their teams and, in some cases, move from early-growth stage to become high-potential start-ups.
“A new year is a time for action, and there may be lots of budding and existing entrepreneurs out there, hatching plans for growth in the months to come. Our message to them is to avail of the supports we offer at the Local Enterprise Office.”
In total, since April 2014 the LEO for Dublin city has also delivered more than 320 training courses, trained about 8,000 course participants and delivered more than 5,000 hours of business mentoring.
“As well as awarding funding, we provide a number of supports to businesses, including training on topics such as business plan development, tax and social media strategy; one-to-one business mentoring sessions and advice clinics; expertise on exporting to international markets; and networking opportunities, which are hugely important to a growing business,” Swift said.
“These networking opportunities include Dublin Food Chain – a membership organisation for food producers, and the largest of its kind in Europe – and our Women in Business Network, an initiative supporting women who are starting a business, or who are already up and running.
“So, whether you have a spark of a business idea and want to find out the next steps to get it off the ground, or you’re a growing business looking to expand into new markets in 2019, come in and talk to us – we’re open for business and here to help,” Swift concluded.
