The search for the most innovative organisations across the island, North and South, is one step closer with the announcement today of the shortlist of 18 organisations selected for The Irish Times InterTradeIreland Innovation Awards, now in its fifth year.

The 18 innovative organisations were selected from wide ranging sectors from all over Ireland and Northern Ireland. 

Got a new idea for your business, want to develop new products or introduce a new process or service - but lack the time, expertise and money to do this? Don't worry - InterTradeIreland can help. 

Not only can we offer your business up to £44,250/ €52,800  * to help you do just that,  we can also provide you with the necessary expertise through our FUSION Programme. 

Nominations for the 2014 EY Entrepreneur Of The Year™ programme officially opened recently as EY kicked off their nationwide search for Ireland’s leading entrepreneurs.

Over 100 entrepreneurs attended the national launch event at the EY offices on Harcourt Street, Dublin, where they heard about the significant benefits of being part of the programme from the 2013 overall winner, Patrick Joy (Suretank) and 2013 finalist Caroline Keeling (Keelings).

NI Water has launched its new summary of contracts worth £130 million which are available to cover goods and services required by the company over the next 18 months.  

This is an exciting opportunity for new and existing companies across a diverse range of sectors, including the SME sector, to come on board and work with NI Water. 

This year's event is shaping up to be just as popular as previous years - so if you havent yet booked do so now!

SMEs - Learn about the current sources of equity capital (both institutional and the business angel networks) available across the island, share the experience of 4 companies and how they raised funding for their businesses,find out what state supports are available for start-up and growing companies.

Most importantly, where else would you get the opportunity to network with investors and other like minded companies under one roof.

InterTradeIreland’s all-island technology transfer and innovation programme, FUSION, partners companies north and south with a third-level institution providing them with the specialist expertise of a high calibre graduate working directly in the organisation to deliver a new product or process improvement project.

Through the programme, Monaghan based Silver Hill Foods were partnered with the University of Ulster to help address the problem of waste management. 

We've compiled a list of our favorite sources of small business and tech news for entrepreneurs. Running the gamut from hilarious, to informational, to controversial, to thought-provoking, these blogs are all must-reads for anyone who's running a business.