LEO offers help for would-be SME exporters through Business Boost
TOM Banville, Head of Enterprise at the Wexford Local Enterprise Office says that their clients can avail of the services of Wexford Company ‘Business Boost International Ireland’ as part of an application for an export marketing grant, a support available to help businesses establish a foothold in foreign markets.
Business Boost International Ireland was formed in late 2015 as a partnership with a major European company that helps SME’s across Europe increase their sales in export markets and two local entrepreneurs, Kilian Duignan and Seamus Murphy.
They do this by helping SMEs make decisions on which country is the most interesting to focus their export efforts, and then helping them find partners on the ground in those countries, such as agents or distributors. The Local Enterprise Office in Wexford is part of a network of Local Enterprise Offices, operating in every county in Ireland. Wexford Local Enterprise Office offers support to start ups and small businesses in a number of different ways. ‘ The Export Marketing Grant is becoming more and more popular with the number of applications growing,’ said Tom, ‘it is designed to help Wexford businesses attend trade shows, develop marketing material for a foreign country and now, for the first time, it can part-fund the market intelligence provided by our local partners.’ ‘We are delighted to be able to help Wexford companies with our range of services and it is fantastic that these services are being support by Tom and his team at the LEO,’ said Kilian. ‘We were a start-up business ourselves once and the range of support offered by the LEO is second to none. We would urge anybody exporting for the first time or looking to explore new export markets, to get in touch with Tom or ourselves and we can help and support you with this effort,’ he said. The Local Enterprise office offers training, mentoring, business advice and financial support to eligible start-ups and Micro enterprises, and can be contacted at the offices of Wexford County Council, Carriglawn , Wexford or at www.localenterprise. ie Business Boost can be contacted at their offices in Wexford 053/9100713 or at www.bb-int.ie