We were delighted to welcome Taoiseach, Micheál Martin TD to the InterTradeIreland offices in Newry, Co. Down. The visit coincided with the announcement that InterTradeIreland’s programmes have generated £100/€115 million in business development value for SMEs this year and to date, 3,500 firms have been supported to generate cross-border exports, secure investment and accelerate innovation.

Commending the data, the Taoiseach said, “Since its inception, InterTradeIreland has been focused on building mutual economic benefit for both sides of the border. It’s an organisation that learned early on that collaboration can maximise opportunity. InterTradeIreland is playing a key role in helping to drive innovation across the island.”

Galway-based, tech start-up Byowave has been named the overall winner of the annual Seedcorn Investor Readiness competition for 2022, leaving the competition with a cash prize of €100,000 and Atlas Smart Technologies, from Ballymena, was crowned ‘Best New Start’ pocketing a cash prize of €50,000.  

The prestigious competition, aimed at improving the investor readiness of innovative early-stage and start-up businesses, provides participants with access to business planning workshops, unique networking opportunities and access to angel investors, as well as mentorship support throughout the competition. 

Also successful on the night and securing a share in the €300,000 prize fund, were Capella WS, specialists in hybrid working technology, and cancer detection company, EpiCapture Ltd, who received the Sustainability Award and Special Award respectively.  

The 22nd annual InterTradeIreland all island Venture Capital Conference is set to take place on Thursday 9th March, 2023 in Croke Park, Dublin.

Following two years of taking place online, this year’s theme will focus on ‘Resilience and Creativity in Business’. At a time when many SMEs are struggling with inflation and the cost of living crisis, in-person networking will foster an environment of collaborative innovation supporting business growth.

InterTradeIreland’s Venture Capital Conference gathers the island’s early stage and start-up businesses;investors, both angel and venture capital; as well as intermediaries.The conference format will include keynote addresses, panel discussions, breakout sessions, as well as networking opportunities.

Does your business need to address technical challenges? Are you interested in developing collaborative contacts that compliment your business ambition?

Find out how InterTradeIreland's Innovation Boost's Cross-Border Business to Business programme can help you find a partner with expertise and allow you both to benefit from collaborative innovation.    

An online assessment resource for SMEs in Ireland to allow firms to quickly evaluate their business management skills has been launched by the Tánaiste and Minister Harris.

The Skills for Better Business assessment, creates a custom report based on a series of questions to identify critical areas of improvement and connects participants to a variety of education and training providers based on individual needs.