Mega Trend Seminar the highlight of Local Enterprise Week

Press Release                                                                                  8th March 2018                 

Mega Trend Seminar the highlight of Local Enterprise Week  

Entrepreneurs and business owners came out in great numbers to hear all about the mega trends that are shaping our future lives and the way we do business during Local Enterprise Week. During an event packed week, the flagship seminar on Mega Trends, which took place on Wednesday 7th March, attracted a full house, with over eighty participants eager to find out how to drive the growth of their businesses by knowing what the future will look like and applying market analysis. Renowned international  speaker Iain Jawad, of Global Growth Consulting Company Frost & Sullivan, presented the participants with tools to assist them in building a pipe-line of new opportunities through market research and information on mega trends such as urbanization, new modes of transport, connectivity and convergence.

Local Enterprise Week is a collaboration on a local and national scale between Local Enterprise Offices (LEO), local business communities, Government Departments, other units within Local Authorities, and State support agencies. The focus of the week is to increase awareness of the range of LEO supports and services available to micro and small enterprises. Speaking about the week in Wicklow Head of Enterprise Sheelagh Daly said “Local Enterprise week is a great opportunity for us to highlight the services we offer to the business community in County Wicklow.  By embracing this rare opportunity to hear about mega trends, SMEs in County Wicklow are proving to be tech savvy and innovative, two key elements to staying successful in business. We want to encourage more businesses to engage with us and explore how we can support and grow their business into the future.”

Over 200 local business people engaged in activities organised by the Local Enterprise Office Wicklow over the course of the Local Enterprise Week, many of whom will continue to get follow up advice/ training and support for their businesses into the future.

There was excellent attendance at the free Trading Online Seminar which took place on Thursday 8th March in which Noel Davison of the Entrepreneurs Academy outlined the benefits and practicalities of developing an ecommerce strategy and engaging with customers online.  Grant support up to €2,500 is available from the Local Enterprise Office to assist in the development of an ecommerce enabled website, details of which were also outlined on the day and can also be accessed online at the LEO Wicklow website.

Marketing for SMEs and Start your own Business training Courses also took place over the course of the week. Concise, high quality training is an integral element of the support offered by the Local Enterprise Office Wicklow to businesses on a year round basis. Heavily subsidised, this training is very affordable and has been developed specifically to assist startups, sole traders and small businesses overcome challenges, refine their strategy and harness opportunities.

There are lots more opportunities for businesses to avail of this support in the coming months. Upcoming courses include the “Introduction to Tendering” workshop - a workshop designed to introduce SMEs to public procurement and to help business owners who have never completed a tender before. Also coming up this month is the “Accessing finance for your Business” workshop for anyone developing a business plan and thinking of applying for a loan. As courses are restricted to small groups, interested people are advised to book early to avoid disappointment. For more information or bookings log onto www.localenterprise.ie/wicklow or call 0404 30800

 

ENDS