Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology (GMIT ) Castlebar will host an enterprise evening in association with the GMIT Innovation in Business Centre (IiBC ), on Monday December 8 from 5.30pm to 8.30pm.
An exhibition of all business agencies in Mayo will take place from 5.30pm to 7pm offering entrepreneur and enterprise services across a wide range of categories from business support, raising finance, training, mentoring, networking to representation services.
These agencies include Enterprise Ireland, Mayo County Enterprise Board, IiBC and a selection of companies from the Innovation Centre, GMIT, Údarás na Gaeltachta, Western Development Commission, South West Mayo Development Company (Leader ), Revenue, Mayo Ideas Lab, Tomkins Patent Attorneys, National Employment Rights Authority and the Mayo County Development Board.
Guest speakers from 7pm will include the 2008 Ernst and Young Emerging Entrepreneur of the Year, Castlebar native Sean Rowland, founder of Hibernia College, and Brian O’Kane, Entrepreneur Guru and author of Starting your own Business in Ireland. A questions and answers session will follow.
Coinciding with Global Incubation Day, the IiBC has organised this event with its partner agencies in the county with the aim of boosting entrepreneurship and growing businesses in Mayo in this new economic era.
The Open Coffee Club will be launched in the Innovation in Business Centre (IiBC ) at GMIT Castlebar from 1pm to 2pm. Gerry Mackey from the Business Angel Partnership (private individuals who invest capital in companies during their early stage of development ) will be present to inform people looking for private investment. This network will meet once a quarter and will be an informal club enabling entrepreneurs to chat, network and grow.
Maria Staunton, Manager, IiBC, says: “It will be a unique opportunity to network with fellow entrepreneurs, meet the relevant agencies and hear first hand the experiences of people who’ve set up their own businesses. This hopefully in turn will inspire more people with innovative ideas to bring them to fruition. What we want to show is that even though we are in recessionary times it can be a great time to start a business. Lots of big businesses have been started during recessionary times, such as Microsoft, HP and GE. A recession is actually a great time to nurture and incubate a small company.”
Attendance is open to all. Admission is free. Light refreshments will be provided. Booking is advisable as places are limited. Register your attendance either by email at [email protected] or by telelephone at 094 904 3198.
