Next week, Tuesday and Wednesday September 27 and 28 will be D-day for many budding entrepreneurs in County Roscommon with the hosting of unique Dragons’ Den-style events, with a panel led by renowned Dragon Bobby Kerr.
Run on behalf of Roscommon LEADER Partnership, the co-ordinator of the project, James Donlon of WESTBIC, has confirmed that the events have generated huge interest with a wide range of enthusiastic people coming forward with interesting and novel business ideas that they wish to present. In fact, due to the level of demand, the event will now take place over two days, with one in Roscommon town and the other in Monksland.
Participants will have the opportunity to present their business ideas to the expert panel and receive constructive feedback on how best to develop their proposal. According to James, “The objective is to provide as much encouragement as possible to new entrepreneurs, to assist them in evaluating their proposals and identifying the next steps that they should take. All information will be treated with the strictest confidence so participants shouldn’t have any fears, as a positive, yet pragmatic approach will be adopted by those involved.”
The Dragons’ Den initiative is part of Roscommon LEADER Partnership’s Enterprise Creation and Development Measure, aimed at encouraging and supporting rural enterprise in the county. Eligible projects will benefit from the constructive feedback given by the expert panel, along with follow-up advice and support with business planning and preparing funding applications to Roscommon LEADER Partnership. Up to €150,000 of non-refundable grant aid may be available for eligible projects from LEADER. In exceptional circumstances this may be raised to €200,000 subject to Department approval.
As the deadline draws near, this is the last call for those who wish to participate. Potential participants should contact James Donlon at WESTBIC immediately at (090 ) 6625196, or email [email protected] for further information.
