Local Enterprise Offices
The Local Enterprise Offices (LEOs) are the first-stop shop for providing advice and guidance in relation to a range of business issues, including financial matters, to the micro and small business sector. They also provide soft supports in the form of training and mentoring to anyone wishing to start or grow a business and financial assistance to micro-enterprises that meet certain criteria. Among their range of services, the LEOs:
- provide focused training courses on a range of topics, including on financial issues such as financial planning (pricing, costing) book-keeping and taxation, and more intensive Start Your Own Business and management development programmes, which also incorporate financial elements
- arrange mentoring supports tailored to meet the specific needs of your business, for example, financial planning, business strategy
- can offer direct grant aid to microenterprises (10 employees or fewer) in the manufacturing and internationally traded services sector
- operate a signposting service in relation to all relevant State supports available through agencies such as Microfinance Ireland and the Credit Review Office
Details of the full range of LEO supports and the location of your local Office are available on localenterprise.ie.
InterTradeIreland
InterTradeIreland is a cross-border trade and business development body funded by the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment and the Department for the Economy. It offers a Funding Advisory Service.
InterTradeIreland also offers practical information on funding for growth.
Microfinance Ireland
Microfinance Ireland’s site offers expert advice on cash flow management for small business and funding your own Irish start-up on its Advice Centre.
SME online support tool
There are over 170 different government supports for Irish start-ups and small businesses. By answering the quick questions in the online tool, a small business will, in one location be able to:
- find out which of the over 170 government business supports from 27 different government departments, agencies and initiatives are available to them
- obtain information on the range of government supports for accessing credit
- be told their nearest Local Enterprise Office to discuss the outcomes of the guide further
- be able to download all these filtered results into a document for their further use
The tool is available at supportingSMEs.gov.ie.
You may also be interested in our mapping initiative of both State and non-State supports for entrepreneurs.