Launch of €2m Digital Enhancement Fund for Retail Sector
Enterprise Ireland will launch a call for funding on April 20 to support retail companies to enhance their digital capability.
The Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation (DBEI) has proposed this Scheme in response to the Covid-19 crisis.
This is a competitive fund which will be administered by Enterprise Ireland on behalf of DBEI with a total fund size of €2million.
Applicants must be an Irish-owned retail enterprise that had 10 or more employees on or before 29 February 2020, have a retail outlet and have an existing online presence.
The Covid-19 Online Retail Scheme is complimentary to the Online Trading Voucher provided by Local Enterprise Offices for companies with less than 10 employees.
The maximum grant available is €40,000. Successful applicants will be awarded funding to support a maximum of 80% of the project costs. The minimum grant amount payable is €10,000.
Costs which successful companies will be eligible to claim for include: salary costs and consultancy fees to develop a digital strategy, enhance the company’s website or to provide training.
The final date for companies to submit an application is 3.00 pm on Wednesday 20th May 2020. Full details of application process and eligibility rules will be published on the EI website shortly:
Stephen Hughes, Head of Consumer Retail, Enterprise Ireland confirmed, “To fully appraise companies of the application process and the key issues to be addressed in an application, we are hosting a Webinar this Friday April 17th at 11.00 a.m. The Webinar will be for no more that 45 minutes and I would encourage all interested parties to participate. As we are limited to participant numbers, attendance is on a first come, first served basis.”
The Webinar will be recorded and available on the EI website afterwards.
Follow this link to register in advance for the Webinar on April 17 (at 11am). https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/8504048846458333451
If you have any queries on the application process you can email: retail@enterprise-ireland.com
Website: www.enterprise-ireland.com
