Brexit: Customs Insights course (online)
The Customs Insights course from Enterprise Ireland helps businesses understand the key customs concepts, documentation and processes required to move goods from, to and through the UK. The online course, which is open to companies of all sizes, will provide learners with a firm understanding of the customs implications for their business and the options from Revenue to make this process more efficient. Take the online Customs Insights course here
LEAN for Micro
LEAN for Micro has been adapted by Enterprise Ireland for LEO clients to help small businesses boost competitiveness, increase performance and profitability as well as building resilience within their companies. Under this programme, clients can avail of five days of consultancy with a Lean Expert (a qualified practitioner), who will work with the company to introduce lean principles, undertake a specific cost reduction project and assist the company in benchmarking its performance
Read our Lean for Micro Case study to learn more
Brexit Preparedness Checklist
The Brexit Preparedness Checklist is an important first step in helping small businesses prepare and ensure their businesses are ready for the impact by Brexit. The Brexit Preparedness Checklist can be accessed here
Financial supports
Technical Assistance for Micro-Exporters (TAME) Grant
The TAME grant supports clients to explore and develop new export market opportunities, such as participation in international trade fairs and development of export-related marketing materials and websites. With a focus on helping companies to diversify, this scheme is a matched-funding opportunity with up to €2,500 available.
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Trading Online Voucher Scheme
An initiative under the Government’s National Digital Strategy, the Trading Online Voucher Scheme helps small businesses trade more online to boost their sales and reach new markets. This scheme is a matched-funding opportunity with up to €2,500 available, with training and further supports provided by Local Enterprise Offices. Funding can be used towards eligible costs such as digital marketing strategies, e-commerce websites or app development.
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Financial Assistance
For existing companies and potential start-ups that meet eligibility criteria (such as employing 10 or fewer people with the potential for growth and job creation), Local Enterprise Offices can also offer three types of financial supports to help manage Brexit responses:
- Priming Grants*
- Business Expansion Grants*
- Feasibility Study Grants*
*Further eligibility criteria apply.
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Microfinance Loans (through Microfinance Ireland)
Local Enterprise Offices can work with clients on their applications to Microfinance Ireland (MFI) for small business loans of between €2,000 and €25,000 (unsecured). Loans for commercially viable proposals can be used to help fund start-up costs, working capital or business expansion. By applying for an MFI small business loan through a Local Enterprise Office, clients can avail of a 1% reduction in the interest rate charged.
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Brexit Loan Scheme
The new Brexit Loan Scheme, which was announced in the 2018 budget, will provide affordable financing to businesses that are either currently impacted by Brexit or will be in the future. The Scheme, which will be delivered by the Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland (SBCI) through commercial lenders will make €300 million available to eligible businesses with up to 499 employees at an interest rate of 4% or less.
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Brexit: Start To Plan Voucher Scheme (through InterTradeIreland)
The InterTradeIreland Start To Plan Voucher Scheme offers SMEs advice and guidance to help navigate their way through Brexit matters.
This support can help businesses get advice on specific issues, such as the movement of labour, goods, services, customs, logistics and financial issues such as VAT and currency management.
Find out how to apply here
Brexit Mentoring
Through the Local Enterprise Offices small companies can get one-to-one mentoring on issues affecting them around Brexit. Mentors can evaluate the risk to your small business and outline the next steps along with key supports available to your company to ensure you are best prepared for Brexit.
Future Growth Loan Scheme
The Future Growth Loan Scheme makes up to €300 million of loans available with a term of 8-10 years. This scheme will be available to eligible Irish businesses and the primary agriculture and seafood sectors to support strategic long-term investment in a post Brexit environment. Finance provided under the scheme is competitively priced and requires no security for loans up to €500,000. Loans must be used for investment in tangible or intangible assets for the purpose of process and organisational innovation, or investment in assets on agricultural holdings linked to primary agricultural production.
https://sbci.gov.ie/schemes/future-growth-loan-scheme
Brexit Implementation Voucher
If your small business is navigating its way through Brexit and planning to implement change then you may be able to avail of the Brexit Implementation Voucher. As part of the voucher InterTradeIreland will pay 50% of the total cost of support of £5,000/€5625. For more information and eligibility criteria see here –https://intertradeireland.com/brexit/brexit-funding/brexit-implementation-voucher/
INNOVATION SUPPORTS
Agile Innovation Fund
The Agile Innovation Fund has been developed by Enterprise Ireland to support product, service and process innovation to build competitive advantage. The key benefit of this support is that it allows for a simple application process and delivers a faster response time from application to approval.
The new Agile Innovation Fund is also open to eligible Local Enterprise Office clients and it allows companies to access up to 50% in support towards innovation projects with a total cost of up to €300,000.
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Innovation Vouchers
The innovation vouchers scheme, which is open to small and medium sized companies registered in the Republic of Ireland, are worth €5,000 are available to assist a company or companies to explore a business opportunity or problem with a registered knowledge provider. For more information and eligibility criteria see here –
https://www.enterprise-ireland.com/en/Research-Innovation/Companies/Collaborate-with-companies-research-institutes/Innovation-Voucher.shortcut.html
Innovation Partnership Programme
The Innovation Partnership Programme can provide up to 80% of the cost of research work to develop new and improved products, processes or services, or generate new knowledge and know-how. The company must be a registered client of one of the following state development agencies: Enterprise Ireland, IDA Ireland, Local Enterprise Office, Údarás na Gaeltachta. For more information and eligibility criteria see here –
https://www.enterprise-ireland.com/en/funding-supports/company/esetablish-sme-funding/innovation-partnerships.html
Brexit Mentoring
The Brexit Mentor Programme is designed to support LEO clients identify key
areas of exposure because of Brexit and assist Owner / Managers in developing
robust strategies to address issues and maximise potential opportunities. The
Programme matches up the knowledge, skills, insights and entrepreneurial
capability of experienced business practitioners with small business owner/
managers who need practical and strategic one to one advice and guidance on
planning for the impact of Brexit. The mentor contributes independent, informed
observation and advice to aid decision making.
All applications for mentor assistance are dealt with individually and must be
preceded by the business completing the Brexit SME Scorecard to assess the key
needs of the business to determine the most essential mentoring objectives.
Who Qualifies?
The Brexit Mentor Programme is open to both new and existing businesses located
within the LEO area.
The Role of Mentor
Mentors provide Enterprise Ireland and LEO Clients with advice and guidance
based on their own commercial experience. They are not consultants. Mentors are
CEOs, senior executives, entrepreneurs & founders with international, commercial
export business development experience. They volunteer to advise and guide our
client companies, with the key objective of accelerating growth and building client
capability.
Their role is to:
Listen, advise and provide direction to support analysis & assessment of
impacts
Help the promoter identify potential risks and opportunities of Brexit
Discuss solutions and innovative ways of improving business activity
Help with the decision-making process and provide support to progress
actions
Share experience and knowledge
Advise on scenario planning, situation assessment and impact evaluation
(contingency plans to sustain and grow business).
Brexit Supports:
Mentoring
Areas of mentor advice in terms of the impact of Brexit
typically include:
Business
Strategy
Advise businesses to
Undertake Situation Analysis,
Develop new strategies to address implications to current business strategies,
priorities and operations models,
Implement Action Plans.
Financial
Planning
Advise businesses to
Examine the impact of currency fluctuations,
Review supplier costings,
Review existing customer pricing models
Assess impact of additional administration costs such as customs, tariffs, tax
etc. to supply chains,
Identify new capital requirements,
Establish equity and credit needs.
Sales &
Marketing
Advise businesses to
Assess the impact on current sales and marketing plans,
Undertake customer needs analysis to determine effects on key customers,
Undertake competitor analysis,
Evaluate changes to value proposition.
Market
Research
Advise businesses to
Establish requirement to develop New Markets,
Examine opportunities for New Product Development.
Intellectual
Property &
Compliance
Advise businesses to understand
Impact of new product standards and regulations,
Are there potential consequences to the validity of trademarks (EU trademarks),
designs and possibly copyrights?
Supply Chain
Management
Advise businesses to understand
What are the potential impacts of:
regulatory changes,
increased compliance checks,
new documentation/licenses application procedures,
rules of origin principles.
Brexit Supports:
Mentoring
