Over 20 micro-enterprises and SMEs from West Wales came together on Thursday 12th May in the Tower Hotel, Waterford to develop new business opportunities with over 20 similar businesses from South East Ireland.
The Business Network Showcase event, which was hosted by Sustainable Learning Networks in Ireland and Wales (SLNIW), in conjunction with the Spirit of Enterprise Forum, promoted trade links, knowledge sharing and job creation.
Professor Bill O’Gorman, Project Director SLNIW, and Director for Research at the Centre for Enterprise Development and Regional Economy (CEDRE), which is part of the School of Business, Waterford Institute of Technology, commented: ‘This was a critical, landmark event in these challenging times. To date the business learning networks have been extremely successful as participants have already derived many benefits from their participation, such as knowledge exchange, self-learning, new business opportunities, and business improvements. This Business Network Showcase has further increased the benefits for all concerned’.
This event also included an exhibition where enterprise support agencies and other providers demonstrated the supports available to SMEs and owner/managers, which are vital to the survival of many businesses in the current economic environment.
Martin Shanahan, CEO of Forfás, Ireland’s policy advisory board for enterprise and science, delivered the key note address for the event and shared his insights on how ‘Growing Enterprise requires National & Local level Initiatives’ for sustainability in this current economic climate.
The event concluded with the presentation of the prestigious Spirit of Enterprise Michael Dee Award to Calmast, the Centre for the Advancement of Learning of Maths, Science and Technology. Director of Calmast, Eoin Gill was presented with the award by Eoin Dee on behalf of the Michael Dee Family for their outstanding contribution to enhancing student awareness of maths, science and technology in Schools and colleges across the South East. These skills will pave the way to enhancing long term economic and social development within the region.
This entire event is part of a project being run by Waterford Institute of Technology’s School of Business, under the auspices of its Centre for Enterprise Development and Regional Economy (CEDRE), together with the School of Management at Aberystwyth University. SLNIW is part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) through the INTERREG 4A Ireland-Wales programme 2007-2013.