Simon Devlin “Up North ...” The realities of doing business in Northern Ireland 10.09.2014 Perceptions of Northern Ireland... from a Southern perspective Lies, damned lies and statistics Population of 1.8 million people, 33% of whom live in the Greater Belfast area. Only 1.25 hours drive from Dublin to Belfast and 3.5 hours from Cork / Galway. NI economy emerged from recession in June 2013 ...steady growth since then: Unemployment falling. Consumer confidence rising. Significant FDI successes recently. Crime statistics improving. Lies, damned lies and statistics [Cont’d] Big growth in South to North sales over recent years - €1.185 billion during 2013. Key areas of opportunity for Irish companies in NI are: Food. Engineering. Construction products / services. Creative industries / digital sector. Recycling and renewables. Many Irish SMEs / micro enterprises now selling very effectively into the NI market. So why would you consider NI as a potential target market? Ideal starter market. “export” Can provide a foothold in the UK market. Same island / easy access. Recovering economy ...with a very strong public sector. Support to explore business opportunities in NI ... Who we are & what we do. We are the only organisation which has been tasked by both Governments to boost North/South economic co-operation for the mutual benefit of Northern Ireland and Ireland. We support SMEs across the island to identify and develop North/South trade and innovation opportunities. We do this through: Business programmes Research & statistics Networks and partnerships At a glance business support Our range of cross-border business initiatives offer practical funding, information, advice and support to help SMEs. Sales & Marketing Innovation & Collaboration Equity Finance n Sales and marketing support Acumen n n All-island Seedcorn Investor Readiness Competition n Sales development support for small business - Elevate n Business Angel Networks and Syndicate groups n Equity advisory service - one to one advice from our equity expert n Venture Capital Conference annual event n Business plan workshops, guides and events n Regional Equity Advisory clinics n Entrepreneurship master classes n n Tender workshops, training and mentoring - Go-2-Tender n n n Meet the Buyer events Trade accelerator voucher scheme for cross-border business advice on legal, financial and regulation issues n Company-graduate-academic partnership - Fusion Business transformation and strategic planning - Challenge Horizon 2020 supports - voucher scheme and information service Innovation events, workshops and masterclasses - All Island Innovation Programme Cross border sales Elevate Elevate is aimed at businesses employing less than 10 people. • Whole rationale for Elevate is to help small businesses to “dip their toes in the water” in NI. • Up to €5,900 worth of advice and assistance from an experienced market expert is available – NO CHARGE to successful applicants. • Visit www.intertradeireland.com/elevate Support options Cross border sales Acumen 1. Employ a full-time salesperson Up to €18,750 is available to hire a dedicated salesperson for 12 months that is based in your target market and responsible for increasing sales in that region - North or South 2. Hire a part-time salesperson Up to €10,000 available to hire a prospector who can represent your company in your target market for 12 months 3. Employ a graduate high-calibre sales & marketing Up to €17,190 towards the employment costs of taking on a graduate to develop a strategic sales and marketing approach in NI/IRE Visit: www.intertradeireland.com/acumen Contact us…. [email protected] www.intertradeireland.com Follow us on Facebook Join the conversation on twitter
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