Companies in Derry and Donegal are set to benefit significantly from a major buying and networking event to be held in the North West soon. The Ireland NorthWest “Meet the Buyer” event, to be held in An Grianan Hotel, Burt, on Wednesday 21 May, offers small businesses from throughout Derry and Donegal the opportunity to meet with a wide variety of key private and public sector buyers from the North West and beyond.
Organised by Ireland NorthWest, a collaborative project between Donegal County Council, Derry City Council, Donegal County Enterprise Board and North West Marketing, it is aimed at increasing the competitiveness and sustainability of the North West through the promotion of a partnership approach to cross border development.
Speaking about the event, Michael Tunney, CEO Donegal County Enterprise Board, said: “The North West Meet the Buyer event provides businesses from Derry and Donegal with an unrivalled the opportunity to go face-to-face and explore new business opportunities with some of the region’s key employers, right here on their doorstep.”
Regarding the format of the event, John McGowan, Chief Executive of North West Marketing said: “the key focus of the event is the scheduling of pre-arranged meetings between buyers and suppliers. This proven approach allows our small companies, many of which will be meeting corporate buyers for the first time, the opportunity to very quickly get down to the business of doing business.” He continued: An added bonus of the event is the fact that participating companies are also afforded the opportunity to meet up and network with upwards of 50 fellow businesses from both sides of the border.
Companies interested in finding out more about the event, should contact Janice Harper of i2 Total Marketing on 028/048 7188 6131.
Upwards of 50 ICT businesses from throughout Ireland took part in the MicroTrade “Getting IT Right for the Public Sector” buying event, which was held in the City North Hotel Dublin, on 12th March 2008. Organised by i2 in association with Dungannon Enterprise, the main focus of the event was to give participating businesses the opportunity to explore new opportunities with the public sector.
Companies were drawn from a wide range of sectors including digital media, wireless products, specialists, IT compliance and Security products. Participating companies took part in approximately 200 pre-arranged meetings with key buyers such as HSE. Bord na Mona and Dundalk IT in the Republic and the NI Assembly, DOE, Central Procurement Directorate and SEELB in Northern Ireland.
Initial feedback indicates that significant sales will be generated over the coming year as a direct result of their involvement in the event. Breanndán Casey, project manager of MicroTrade said: “Each company had on average six pre-arranged meetings. These meetings were an ideal way for smaller companies to target the public sector market, which is currently valued at £11/€16.5billion per annum. The event also allowed companies to network and identify cross-border opportunities between Northern Ireland and Republic of Ireland.”
i2 has been working with the Special EU Programmes Body (SEUPB) in its role to facilitate Northern Ireland / Ireland participation in the INTERREG IVB Transnational and INTERREG IVC Inter-regional Programmes. With an established track record in INTERREG cross border programmes and the EU-funded PEACE programme, SEUPB has only recently taken on the new transnational/inter-regional role, and Seamus McAdams of i2 has been engaged by SEUPB to develop and co-ordinate this role.
The role includes the promotion of SEUPB’s role in transnational/inter-regional programmes, organising events, promoting the profile of the Programmes in Northern Ireland, acting in an advisory and signposting role for new applicants to Programmes, as well as assisting Programme Secretariats in the assessment process for preparatory project applications.
Pictured with renowned golfer Darren Clarke at the recent opening of the new Cilento store in Strabane are Lesley & William Mealiff, proprietors of Cilento together and Sharon Forbes of i2.
i2 have been working with Cilento in the development of the Cilento brand and positioning the company as the leading fashion retailer in the North West of Ireland.
Wireless Cities is one of a number of European-wide projects where i2 provides management and evaluation supports. The project aims to improve citizens' quality of life through the promotion of the use of wireless networks as a tool for information, communication, work, etc. The project involves inter-regional co-operation between six partners from Spain, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Finland and Poland to promote the economic development of the regions through the development of new services based on wireless technologies.