InterTradeIreland 

At InterTradeIreland, we know just how challenging life has recently been for many businesses. That’s why we’re helping SMEs across the island by offering practical business funding, information, advice and support.

How we can help

InterTradeIreland makes it easier to do cross-border business and our support includes:

Business Funding

 

• Up to £15k/€18k Sales & Marketing packages to help you employ a full-time or part-time salesperson for your business or fund consultancy support for your cross-border initiative through Acumen
• Up to £44,250/ €52,800 Innovation packages to help you undertake a 12 month/18 month innovation project to improve your products, processes or services through FUSION
• Up to £5k/ €6k worth of Industry and Trade/Marketing expertise to help you on a one-to-one basis to develop and implement a sales plan for your business with Elevate
• £1000 / €1200 of vouchers towards professional advice in areas such as regulation, taxation, employment law, currency, sales and marketing if you are considering doing cross-border business. Trade Accelerator Voucher Scheme
• £500/€550 of vouchers towards travel and accommodation expenses when meeting potential partners with a view to applying for European funding under Framework Programme 7 (FP7)
• Up to £250k/€300k collaborative R&D packages to help you commercialise a great idea with a partner through Innova

Access to Expertise & Mentoring – North /South

• Small Business sales development – Elevate
  Industry and Trade/Marketing experts will work with you on a one-to-one basis to develop and implement a sales plan for your business, kick-start your sales and help you to get on the fast track to cross-border trading.
• Sales & Marketing – Acumen
  Acumen can provide your company with consultancy support/ expertise to either - plan and implement a cross-border market entry strategy, review your sales plan to grow your existing cross-border sales, develop a cross-border joint venture or strategic alliance.
• Technology Transfer – FUSION
  Partner with a third-level institution with the specialist expertise you need and a high calibre science, engineering or technology graduate.
• Free Equity Advisory Service – EquityNetwork
  For early stage high growth companies that plan to raise funds within the incoming 12 months.
• Business Entrepreneurs.  Hear and learn from some of the island’s most success business people and founders of early stage growth companies through our entrepreneurship events.
• International innovation experts
  A series of free innovation lectures and master-classes are held throughout the year to share international best practice in areas of innovation.
• Public Tender mentoring –Go2Tender
  One to One mentoring so you gain the confidence, knowledge and practical skills to tender successfully for public sector contracts for your business, particularly on a cross-border basis.

Public Procurement services

• Go2Tender workshops
  Two day workshops to give you the confidence, knowledge and practical skills to tender successfully for public sector contracts for your business, particularly on a cross-border basis.
• Procurement events
  Events offering practical advice from buyers and procurement experts on how you can ‘up your game’ to win public sector contracts
• Tender alerts
  These provide you with real-time tender alerts to your phone when new public sector opportunities are advised in Northern Ireland, Ireland or within the EU.
• Hints and Tips
  Latest advice on the Public Procurement market and government tenders.

Venture Capital & Business Angel Services

• Equity Advisory Service

Free service for early stage high growth companies that plan to raise funds within the incoming 12 months.

 

• Monthly Equity Advisory Clinics   

Monthly regional clinics aimed at helping companies seeking equity investment. The clinics will be delivered by our venture professional, Drew O’Sullivan.  Drew will be available to meet with companies to advise independently on their fund raising activities including business plan review, investment pitch practice and signposting to investors across the island.  

 

• Annual Venture Capital Conference

The only Venture Capital Conference on the island and a must for entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, business angels, investors and anyone with an interest in venture capital.

 

• Seedcorn Competition

The largest business competition for early stage/high growth companies in any sector on any part of the island and has a record prize fund of €280,000. Aimed at companies that have a new equity funding requirement.

 

• Business Angel Network

Information on the business angel networks across the island

 

• Events

Round tables, masterclasses & Business Planning workshops.

 

• Online Guide to Venture Capital

All the active venture funds and Business Angel networks on the island, that we are aware of, in one searchable database.

Information and Advice

• First Stop Shop
  Download our Simple Guide to Cross Border Business (598 KB) which is a practical guide that provides answers to the most common financial and legal questions operating cross-border.
• FP7 Advice and information – FP7 section
  Our free advice and information service can help match companies and researchers to cross-border partners for FP7 funding collaborative applications. It also provides information on how to get started with EU funding, links to sources of information and details of upcoming events.
• Research Reports and Publications
  Download the latest research.
• All-Island Trade Statistics
  Provides you with up to date information on cross-border sectoral and total trade, tourism flows, transport flows, student flows and enconomic indicators. We have provided a combination of interactive graphs with trade commentaries, which provides a more comprehensive view of cross-border trade flows on the island.cross-border sectoral and total trade, tourism flows, transport flows, student flows and enconomic indicators.
• First Times Exporter Advice 
  Considering doing cross-border business for the first time? Here are some helpful tips to get you started.
• Top Ten Legal Tips 
  InterTradeIreland encourages companies to exploit new cross-border business opportunities on their doorstep. However we appreciate that doing business in a new jurisdiction can sometimes be challenging, so to make things a little easier we have produced some useful tips in relation to legal issues that you may need to consider. 
   

Events and Workshops

• Find details of all InterTradeIreland events, workshops and other business networking events that you may be interested in attending.