Government launches €12m grant fund for enterprise centres

12 Aug 2020

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Applications are now open for the Enterprise Centre Fund, which enables Irish enterprise centres to avail of grants of up to €150,000 to develop a recovery plan for their businesses to deal with the impact of Covid-19.

On Wednesday (12 August), Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Leo Varadkar, TD, announced the launch of a new €12m Enterprise Centre Fund to support enterprise centres impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic.

The fund will be administered by Enterprise Ireland and targets the enterprise centres in every region of the country, which provide space, training, advice and administer grants to hundreds of companies and entrepreneurs in Ireland.

Varadkar said: “We are determined to do everything we can to assist businesses during this difficult times. Enterprise centres support over 2,000 companies and thousands of jobs in every region of the country.”

The Tánaiste, who made the announcement from the Guinness Enterprise Centre in Dublin 8, added: “This funding will help them to put in place a recovery plan which will ensure they can continue to deliver for all parts of Ireland. Applications are open from today and I encourage all centres who have been impacted to apply.”

How to apply

Applications for funding will be open until Wednesday 30 September, 2020. The Enterprise Centre Fund is part of the Government’s July Stimulus Package, which is a €7.4bn package of measures designed to stimulate a jobs-led recovery of the economy while continuing to manage the impact of Covid-19.

The Enterprise Centre Fund is open to both not-for-profit and for-profit enterprise centres, which have seen their income significantly impacted as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Grant funding of between €10,000 and €150,000 is available to successful applicants, to help them implement a recovery plan to reboot their centres over the next six to 12 months. Funding of up to 80pc of eligible costs outlined in applicants’ submitted recovery plans may be granted.

Applicants for funding will need to demonstrate the ability to finance the balance of funding required to implement the recovery plan. The required balance of funding can take the form of revenue generated through the centre’s core activities over the duration of the plan. Information on how to apply can be found here.

Julie Sinnamon, CEO of Enterprise Ireland, commented: “Enterprise centres provide a critical regional infrastructure for entrepreneurs, start-up companies and small enterprise.

“The €12m Enterprise Centre Fund available from today through Enterprise Ireland, provides financial support to help eligible enterprise centres to continue to provide important services to start-ups in towns and villages across Ireland. These enterprise centres have a key role in supporting regional enterprise and contributing to economic recovery, post Covid-19.”

Kelly Earley was a journalist with Silicon Republic

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