Enterprise boards allocate €1.7m funds

A total of 89 Cork-based micro-enterprises received approval for combined funding of €1.7m last year, driving one of the most successful years of entrepreneurship in the county.

The figures, published yesterday by Cork County and City Enterprise Boards, resulted in at least 155 new jobs last year.

West Cork Enterprise Board chief executive Michael Hanley said: “The increase in the level of uptake of our services throughout the county is very encouraging and the year-end figures show that business is on the up so we look forward to continuing to provide a platform for further growth in 2014.”

The Cork Enterprise Boards last year ran 166 training and business development programmes, making them the largest provider of business-specific training in the region.

More than 1,700 people from micro-enterprises attended the programmes.

In addition, 133 separate business advice clinics were held, while 237 mentor assignments were made by the boards.

The boards’ Schools Enterprise Programme saw a total of 2,984 second-level students experience setting up and running their own companies.

Third-level students were also supported, with almost 1,000 partaking in Enterprise Board-supported activity in Cork.

Businesses who received funding last year spanned a range of sectors including IT, food production, engineering, and software development.

Today, 3,940 people are employed in businesses in Cork supported by Enterprise Boards, an increase of 17% on 2012 levels.