Businesses line up for cross-border networking

SMALL businesses will get the chance to network with potential partners across the island at an InterTrade Ireland event later this week.

The cross-border business development body will host the event on Wednesday in Dublin’s Citywest hotel as part of the Microtrade initiative, which is jointly run by Northern business development agency Enterprise Northern Ireland and city and county enterprise boards in the Republic. The event is open to firms employing fewer than 10 people and will help participants to find new customers and clients, as well as find suppliers and potential outlets for their products and services.

Among the participants will be Brilliant Red, an Armagh-based marketing consultancy that has joined forces with InterTrade Ireland to develop a marketing support programme for businesses on both sides of the border. The Focus programme provides grant aid to allow small business to hire a marketing graduate for a 12-month period.