Micro Food Export Initiative starts
LOCAL enterprise offices from Wexford, Tipperary, Carlow, Kilkenny, Waterford, Bord Bia and Enterprise Ireland got together recently to launch the South East Micro Food Export Initiative (SEMFEI).
This Initiative, funded by the Department for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, aims to establish a cluster of fledgling micro food exporters across the South East Region and to develop their export capability to assist them to grow and develop in an international context.
The first phase of the South East Micro Food Export Initiative (SEMFEI) is open to all micro-food clients of Local Enterprise Offices across the South East Region and an Exploring Food Exporting Seminar will be held later this month in Dunbrody County House Hotel, to provide micro food companies with an overview of the export journey and assist them to assess if their business is export ready.
Breege Cosgrave, the acting Senior Enterprise Development Officer with the Wexford LEO, said she was ‘delighted that Wexford has been chosen as a venue to kick start the programme’. From the diverse range of companies who will take part in the initial phase, 15 companies will be selected to participate in a further three phases of intensive training to assist them to plan, develop and implement a focused export proposition over a 10 month period. Speaking at the launch of the Initiative, Rita Guinan from Tipperary LEO said, ‘ The South East Region has a very strong and dynamic base of micro-food companies who stand to really benefit from this Initiative particularly in terms of advancing their export ambitions. ‘ The export market is vital to the food sector here in Ireland and our regional communities are heavily reliant on the provision of employment by this industry.’ She said the South East Micro Food Export Initiative is a really exciting collaborative initiative developed by Local Enterprise Offices, Bord Bia and Enterprise Ireland (funded under the Action Plan for Jobs, LEO Competitive Funds) which will provide the knowledge and experience to aid the Region’s micro scale food enterprises advance their growth and specifically export strategies. For further information or to participate please contact your Local Enterprise Office.