Local Enterprise Week 2019 - LEO Cork City & Entrepreneurs "Making It Happen"

Ann Doherty, Chief Executive of Cork City Council, and Ita Madden from LEO Cork City were on hand today with two of Cork City’s successful entrepreneurs, Jack Crotty, aka The Rocket Man and Audrey Lehane from Azure Jewellery to launch Local Enterprise Week 2019, which will take place from Monday 4th March to Friday 8th, 2019. 

Local Enterprise Week is a national event organised by the 31 Local Enterprise Offices in Ireland and will see the Local Enterprise Office (LEO) Cork City run a series of free business related events for Cork city businesses and budding entrepreneurs. 

Cork City Council Chief Executive, Ann Doherty stated “The vibrant SME sector in Cork is the lifeblood of our city’s economy and through the Local Enterprise Office, Cork City we have a dedicated and highly experienced team based in City Hall available 52 weeks of the year to support local businesses. Local Enterprise Week gives us the opportunity to highlight the wide range of resources and supports that are available through the LEOs and I hope many of our budding and seasoned Cork city entrepreneurs will join us for one of the many events we have planned throughout the week.” 

Adrienne Rodgers, Head of Enterprise at the Local Enterprise Office, Cork City stated “Local Enterprise Week is a big highlight of our year as it is a great way to demonstrate the wide range of supports available and why the LEO office should be the first port of call for entrepreneurs in Cork. I would encourage anyone interested in or developing a business to reach out to us as LEO Cork City can help in “Making It Happen” for you and your company.” 

Throughout the week a wide range of experts from around the country will gather in Cork for a series of thought provoking and informative conferences and workshops to support owners/managers of small businesses in the city and budding entrepreneurs. All of the events are free and most include a networking element, where participants can connect with other entrepreneurs as well as business leaders and advisers. 

One highlight of the week will be “Online Retailing for the Traditional Retailer and retail services businesses” which takes place in the Clayton Hotel, Lapps Quay on Monday 4th March. The event commences with a networking breakfast at 8:30am, with the workshop commencing at 9am and running until 12 noon. MC for the event is one of Ireland’s leading Retail Advisors, James Burke of James Burke & Associates, who stated “Christmas 2018 was a defining moment for the retail sector, with the biggest consumer migration to online in the last decade. Much of this online retailing has encouraged sales to flow out of Ireland and this workshop will explore the potential for online success for traditional retail sectors.”  

Speakers include Oonagh McCutcheon from the IE Domain Registry who will talk about how using technology can streamline business processes. Also speaking on the day will be Jean McCabe of Willow (Ennis & Galway), winner of the Retail Excellence “National Store of the Year 2019” who will be showing how small SMEs can compete successfully online with much larger brands. 

Other events include a timely workshop on Brexit - “Brexit - never waste a good crisis!” which takes place in the Republic of Work on Tuesday 5th March. The workshop, facilitated by Denis Casey of Casey Business Consulting, will outline how small businesses can prepare for Brexit despite all of the uncertainty. 

There are also events targeting specific sectors such as “What’s Cooking? Food Innovation Stories”, an opportunity to hear from a number of local food producers who are developing new markets and new ideas, which takes place on Wednesday 6th March. Also “On the Starting Line” is a Start Your Own Business workshop targeting full or part time sports people interested in entrepreneurship as a career. This takes place on Thursday 7th March at the Mardyke Arena. 

For further information on the list of the free events and activities taking place in Cork City during Local Enterprise Week visit www.localenterprise.ie/CorkCity. 

Other Joint LEO Cork Events