Economy Minister Gordon Lyons has launched a new Invest Northern Ireland programme to support the growth of local SME businesses across Northern Ireland.
Ambition to Grow is a £1.8million regionally focussed support programme. It has been developed by Invest NI to support innovative, export-driven SMEs to create jobs and sell outside Northern Ireland.
Speaking about the programme, Economy Minister Gordon Lyons said: “As a competitive programme, Ambition to Grow will offer valuable financial support, alongside Invest NI’s expertise, to local SMEs from across Northern Ireland. The programme is being specifically managed by Invest NI’s Regional Team and will ensure businesses in every region will benefit. It will help them to create skilled jobs, grow their business through exports, and work towards reaching a turnover of over £1million.”
Applications will open on Monday 24 October, and will close at 12 noon on Friday 25 November 2022.
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The application form and eligibility checker will be available on the webpage from 12 noon Monday 24 October.
Following the application process, each successful business will receive up to £45,000 in support towards the creation of a minimum of three jobs and business development activities.
The Minister added: “My Department’s 10X Economic Vision recognises that we are a small, competitive economy and highlights the important role that SMEs play in developing this success further. This programme will enable successful SMEs to avail of support that will help increase their capacity, business knowledge, and to upskill existing and new employees, to take their growth to the next level. The ultimate goal is to increase the number of SMEs across all areas of Northern Ireland successfully growing and competing globally.”
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Support will be awarded to applicants on a competitive basis. Applications will be assessed and scored, with the highest scoring companies awarded funding, following a successful validation interview.
Mel Chittock, Invest NI interim CEO, said: “As the business landscape has continually evolved we’re exploring new ways in which we can effectively provide best-fit support to businesses. Ambition to Grow has been designed to offer a new competitive approach, with a focus on supporting ambitious, innovative SMEs that are in the earliest stages of their development and who have had no support from us in the past five years. The support will be split evenly across our Regional Office network, with the top ten applications from each region receiving support.”
To help businesses understand the new approach and if the programme is a good fit for them, Invest NI are hosting information sessions in each of the 11 council areas from 12 to 20 October.
Interested businesses can book to attend an information session in their local area to find out more about the programme.
For more information on how to apply or book to attend an information event, please visit Invest NI’s Ambition to Grow webpage here.
Source: Written from press release.
