County & City Enterprise Boards

www.enterpriseboards.ie - find your local County/ City Enterprise Board

County and City Enterprise Boards are the first stop for Entrepreneurs and small businesses.

The Enterprise Boards are the principal government agency at local level with responsibility for enterprise promotion and micro business development. There are thirty-five Enterprise Boards and the Boards key objectives are:

To stimulate and promote local enterprise culture and entrepreneurship
To assist new business start ups, particularly through provision of financial assistance
To assist the expansion and growth of existing small business through a range of measures including the provision of financial assistance
To promote and facilitate greater levels of product and process innovation within small businesses particularly through the promotion of innovation management and the use of R&D.
To encourage and facilitate higher levels of exporting businesses, greater innovation, and the use of R&D in small businesses
To grow a significant number of companies for exports
To develop the management capability of promoters of small business and to develop strong business networks
To contribute to the achievement of balanced regional development and a balanced regional economy

Enterprise Boards strive to meet their objectives by providing a number of crucial services to businesses and individuals across a diverse range of sectors, including a business information service, business mentoring, business consultancy, business training programmes, and various business networking opportunities. Grant aid is also offered to assist with business start-up or business expansion.

Enterprise Boards are acutely aware of the difficulties faced by women, young people and older workers. In 2006 the Boards prepared a draft national initiative based on research carried out by the Boards on a wide range of practices in this area of enterprise promotion and support at international level.

The desire to specifically support women, who are currently under-represented in the labour force and in business ownership, to enter self-employment and develop their businesses can therefore be regarded as possessing a strong degree of “fit” with the aims and objectives of County and City Enterprise Boards at local and national level.

Enterprise Boards have previously delivered specific female enterprise support services either within their own geographic area or in conjunction with other Boards and partners. This proposed national event therefore represents an opportunity to copper-fasten the organisational learning to date within Enterprise Boards in relation to female enterprise support and more importantly to share this experience with a wider audience.