How to Find Out What Grants/Supports you are Eligible for.
How to Find Out What Grants/Supports you are Eligible for and Other Items of Interest
If you wondering amongst all the grants and mentoring opportunities out there which ones your business is eligible for, the following website should be able to help: www.supportingsmes.gov.ie. You need to complete a very brief questionnaire and then it will list all the supports your business is eligible for. RTE has a website www.boostmybusiness.ie which lists most Covid Specific Supports available for SMEs.
1.Employee Wage Subsidy Scheme(EWSS)
The EWSS which started from September 1st last. It is based on projected turnover from July to December 2020 being down by 30% and each month's actual turnover is then compared with the corresponding period in 2019 to see if you qualify for that month. So turnover for September 2020 is compared with turnover for September 2019. If the turnover is down by 30% it can be used for September 2020. If not, you run the same check again in October.
2. InterTradeIreland (ITI) Covid Supports and Brexit Advice
ITI, the Cross Border Body that promotes trade across the island of Ireland, is offering a number of Covid supports and emergency business grants as well as providing a Brexit Advisory Service. Please see details by clicking here.
3.Covid-19 Micro-Enterprise Assistance: Open for Applications
The COVID-19 Micro-Enterprise Assistance scheme provides a grant of between €500 to €1,000 in respect of vouched expenditure contribution towards the cost of reopening or keeping a business operational and re-connecting with employees and customers. Again, you must have a 30 per cent reduction in T/O, have had 2-10 staff on your payroll in February 2020 and not be eligible for the Covid-19 Restart/Restart Plus Grant.
Click here to find out more.
4. Prepare Your Business for Customs
The need to overcome pending Brexit Customs issues is now becoming essential for most businesses. Learn how export and import customs procedures on trade with ‘Third Countries’ apply, how tariffs work and the need to correctly classify your goods at your Local Enterprise Offices (LEOs) next "Prepare Your Business for Customs" workshop which are being run regularly. Please refer to your local LEO at www.localenterprise.ie
5. Enterprise Ireland Ready for Customs Grant
Enterprise Ireland has launched the Ready for Customs Grant to provide companies with financial assistance to cover the costs of taking on much needed additional customs clearance staff, which will be required from the 1st January 2021. Click here for further details.
6. MentorsWork - Your Pathway to Business Recovery
The MentorsWork eight-week business-support programme is free to SMEs nationwide and is designed to provide the skills and supports to help business owner-managers sustain and improve their business. The programme offers integrated learning supports across four key pillars; People, Finance and Growth, Digitalisation and Automation, and Business Processes, all which help businesses to adapt and thrive by improving skills and competencies. Click here to find out more.
7.National Women's Enterprise Day - Wednesday 14th October
Come and join host, Áine Kerr, and entrepreneurs from across the country - including Derya Sousa, Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer at Kianda Tecnologies, for a day of education, inspiration and motivation! Click here for more details.
8.Irish Business Design Challenge Opened
The Irish Business Design Challenge is a competition with a prize fund of €50,000, for micro, small and medium Irish businesses to share the challenges they are experiencing as a result of Covid-19 and the solutions they have designed to resolve them. To take part you must have pivoted, repurposed or redesigned your products/service/or business. The deadline for entries is 28th October 2020. Click here to apply.
9. ISME & Virtual Brexit Discussion
As Brexit begins to loom again ISME, along with Skillnet Ireland, will host a live Virtual Brexit Discussion with a selection of subject experts on Tuesday, 20th of October at 11am. The event will be hosted by Newstalk’s Business Editor, Vincent Wall and is free and open to all. The discussion will focus on issues such as importing, exporting & customs; legal ramifications; supports; and cross-border trading. Full speaker bios and a link to register can be found here.