ALMOST 50 owners and managers from small and medium enterprises across the southeast, including 12 from Wexford have started work with counterparts in west Wales in a new programme promoted by Waterford Institute of Technology and Aberystwyth University to strengthen business, increase export trade and create additional employment.
Funded by the European Regional Development Fund through the Ireland Wales Programme 2007-2013 (Interreg 4A), Sustainable Learning Networks in Ireland and Wales (SLNlW) is working with 49 Irish entrepreneurs and more than 60 from Wales to allow them share knowledge and experiences and – in time – explore business opportunities in the two jurisdictions.
A particular strength of the project which commenced formal sessions in Waterford this week is that it will begin by working with network participants to identify the additional skills they require to meet current business challenges creatively and innovatively. SLNIW will see the entrepreneurs tackle issues around competitiveness in their sectors as well as being more creative in preparing their businesses for growth by penetrating new markets in their own countries and internationally.
Dr Bill O’Gonnan, Project Director, SLNIW and Director, CEDRE, said: “This major initiative between southeast Ireland and west Wales can deliver real business growth and sustainable employment in the two regions. It fits very well with the strategic drive by Waterford Institute of Technology to foster greater economic development in the southeast. The small and medium enterprise (SME) sector that this programme works with can provide the bedrock for reversing the economic decline we have seen in recent years.
