On Thursday, (22 June) a regional information session will be hosted by Enterprise Ireland for those interested in obtaining further information, and those who may be interested in submitting applications under the new Regional Enterprise Development Fund.
The competitive funding has been provided by the Department of Jobs, through Enterprise Ireland and is a key action to support the Regional Action Plan for Jobs and the Action Plan for Rural Development. The Fund is aimed at accelerating economic recovery in every part of the country by delivering on the potential of local and regional enterprise strengths. The Fund will support significant collaborative regional initiatives to build on specific industry sectoral strengths and improve enterprise capability, thereby driving job creation.
Under a competitive process, Enterprise Ireland is now seeking applications for funding under four streams with varying investment levels:
*Major Change Projects – €2m up to €5m per project
*Regionally Significant Projects – €250,000 up to €2m per project
*Local & Community Enterprise Development Projects – €50,000 up to €250,000 per project
*Industry Clusters – €50,000 up to €250,000 per project
Jerry Moloney, Regional Director Mid-West & Regional Development Initiatives at Enterprise Ireland said: “A key role of Enterprise Ireland is supporting enterprise development. This fund will provide an important infrastructural mechanism to drive growth in developing enterprise across all regions. The fund will also support the development of industry clusters which will facilitate knowledge transfer, innovation and collaboration among organisations. These are important drivers of enterprise growth and job creation, and we look forward to supporting more regionally-based projects through this initiative.”
The Regional Action Plans for Jobs seek to build on the strengths and opportunities in each region and to build a regional ecosystem including a diversity of companies and sectors, sectoral clusters, a spirit of innovation and collaboration, a good physical and digital infrastructure and appropriate research and technology capability.
The event will take place at The Strand Hotel, Limerick from 8-10am.
**Attendance is free, but please register your attendance in advance using the following link.
Details of the competitive process are available on Enterprise Ireland’s website www.enterprise-ireland.com/REDF.
The closing date for the first call for Streams 1,2,3 and 4 is 3pm Friday 18th August 2017.