A new funding scheme, aimed at driving job creation/retention and enterprise development in each region throughout Ireland was recently launched by the Minister of Enterprise, Trade & Employment, Simon Coveney TD.
The Smart Regions Enterprise Innovation Scheme is being delivered by Enterprise Ireland and has a total value of €145.3 million. Its aim is to fund projects that align with the Regional Enterprise Plan.
The following four streams are catered for in the scheme:
- Local enterprise infrastructure projects (for capital projects up to €10 million)
- Innovation clusters & consortia (from €50k to €2m for projects over 3 years)
- Services to SMEs to drive innovation solutions (80% programme funding up to a max of €1m)
- Feasibility and Priming Grants (80% project funding up to a max of €200k)
These projects should be collaborative in nature, innovative, financially viable, sustainable, and focused on delivering metrics and key performance indicators (KPIs) which provide additionality to the existing regional infrastructure.
Call 1 is now open for an extended period, with a proposed call close of 31 March 2024.
The call document (link here) is now available and provides a detailed description of the call, and sets out the funding criteria, applicant eligibility and project evaluation methodologies.
Shannon Chamber encourages member companies to give this funding stream consideration.
