All-island development agency InterTrade Ireland believes that its sales and marketing support programme for small business can generate an extra €100 million for the sector and create 500 new jobs, writes Barry O'Halloran.
The organisation rolled out its Acumen sales programme across all 32 counties at the beginning of the year. Up to that point, it was limited to the Border region.
In a statement yesterday, Mr Willie Maxwell of InterTrade Ireland said that, between 1996 and 2002, Acumen assisted 225 companies to generate cross-border sales of almost €60 million and create 600 jobs.
According to yesterday's statement, InterTrade Ireland has set an island-wide target for the Acumen programme of generating €100 million in sales and creating 500 new jobs. The agency did not say over what timescale this would be achieved.
Acumen gives companies financial aid to help them meet the cost of hiring consultants and dedicated sales and marketing staff.
The maximum cost covered for consultancy is €8,500, with InterTrade Ireland paying half. The maximum covered for employing sales and marketing people is €34,000, with the agency paying half.
Companies with "exceptional" growth potential may qualify for both consultancy and salary support.
InterTrade said the programme is designed to deliver "hands-on" assistance to the companies, tailored to meet their particular needs.
The Acumen programme is also supported by Enterprise Ireland, Invest Northern Ireland and Údarás na Gaeltachta.
The total programme costs for the first three years are €4.7 million, shared between the InterTrade Ireland, Enterprise Ireland and Invest Northern Ireland.
Ovelle Pharmaceuticals, which is based in Dundalk, Co Louth and manufactures and distributes skin-care products, recently signed up for the Acumen programme. Ovelle's managing director, Ms Joanna Gardiner, said yesterday that there was "huge" potential in the cross-border market.
