A number of events are planned for Local Enterprise Week to increase awareness of the range of supports and services available to micro-enterprises from local enterprise offices.
Local Enterprise Week runs from Sunday March 4, to Friday March 9, and there is a wide range of events planned to take place in Mayo.
Highlights in Mayo include an event on boosting productivity in businesses taking place in Castlebar on Monday, and in Ballina there will be an event on how to use Instagram and Snapchat for business.
Tuesday March 6 features a breakfast business seminar in Castlebar, where attendees will learn about the supports offered by local enterprise offices. On Wednesday March 7 a Brexit advisory clinic will be held in Claremorris.
A seminar on upcoming changes to EU General Data Protection Regulations in Ballina will be a highlight of the talks on Thursday March 8. There will also be a business advice clinic in Ballina on the same day. On Friday, March 9, in Westport there will be a seminar on content building and search engine optimisation.
John Magee, head of enterprise at Local Enterprise Office Mayo, says the aim of Local Enterprise Week is to showcase all the supports that can be accessed locally.
“Local Enterprise Office Mayo, as part of the local authority service offering, is at the heart of delivering enterprise supports to small businesses and start-ups in local communities," he says. "From training programmes that help businesses unlock new markets to financial assistance that help businesses create more jobs, Local Enterprise Week is the ideal time to find out how your Local Enterprise Office can help your small business start-up and grow.”
The week officially kicks off on Sunday March 4 with the national final of Ireland’s Best Young Entrepreneur (IBYE ) competition in Google Headquarters in Dublin. More than 1,400 young entrepreneurs entered the IBYE 2018 competition, which is an initiative of the Local Enterprise Offices, and is supported by the Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation, and Enterprise Ireland.
Mayo is particularly well represented this year with two finalists competing. John McNicholas of Inspire Tiles and Stone, based in Claremorris, will be competing in the Best Start Up Business category. Mr McNicholas describes his business as “a new ultra-modern and design lead tile, wood flooring and sanitary wear business based in Claremorris". "We provide a wide range of quality products, using the finest materials and leading manufacturers, while ensuring value for money for our customers,” he says.
The other Mayo finalist, Daniel Loftus of UrbanFox, based in Newport, will be competing in the Best Established Business category and he classifies his business as one that has created “artificial intelligence technology that can reduce the rate of online fraud by up to 96 per cent and is four times more effective than other solutions currently available".
A full event listing for the week is available from www.localenterprise.ie/mayo
