All Aboard The Enterprise Bus! - Business Startup Resources

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All Aboard The Enterprise Bus!

Written by Enterprise Ireland

Tuesday, 08 April 2008 14:01

The County and City Enterprise Boards (CEBs) and Bank of Ireland Business Banking have announced the launch of an exciting and innovative concept – a mobile support and advice unit for budding entrepreneurs - The Enterprise Bus. This joint initiative has been put in place to provide free local community support and advice to people thinking about starting a business and those in the early stages of new business development.

Eamon Ryan, Chairman of the CEB Association said, “More and more people are considering starting a business. This is confirmed through the GEM report which shows that some 270,000 people are expressing a desire to start a business over next 3 years. The Enterprise Bus will bring the right information and advice to these people in their own communities and will make it easier to find the right solutions for individual prospective entrepreneurs”.

According to Damian Young, Head of Small Business, Bank of Ireland Business Banking: “We understand how important it is for early stage businesses to receive advice and support in order to get started and to grow. We also know how difficult it can be for businesses to access this support which is why we are pleased to work on this joint initiative with the CEBs.   With 18,740 new businesses set up last year and a similar number forecast for this year, we anticipate and look forward to being of help to as many as possible in their local communities in terms of achieving their start-up and growth objectives”.

The enterprise bus will visit multiple locations around the country over the course of the next ten months starting in Dun Laoghaire/Rathdown.   Business owners, or those thinking of setting up a business, will be able to avail of support and advice from enterprise mentors and business advisers on aspects of training available, developing business plans, accessing the right type of finance and guidance on other services available to enterprises. Location details and dates are available on www.theenterprisebus.ie.

Small businesses continue to be a significant contributor to the economy accounting for 97% of all businesses in Ireland. The launch of the Enterprise Bus further endorses Bank of Ireland’s commitment to small businesses in Ireland and demonstrates its ongoing support to local enterprises in conjunction with the CEBs.