Chamber’s Ireland Weekly Digest: 19th June 2017

graphedia
  1. SEAI Smart Lighting Grant

The Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland is introducing  a new pilot SME support  – Smart Lighting grant scheme. The goal is to support energy efficient lighting that is more sustainable and cost-effective. Switching to energy efficient lighting can save your business up to 90% in annual lighting costs, but SEAI will cover up to 40% of the cost of replacing your existing lighting.

Eligible applicants must be SMEs with less than 50 employees, and be part of one of the following sectors:

  • Fitness Centres
  • Retailers
  • Small Hotels / Large B&Bs
  • Pharmacies
  • Nursing Homes
  • Jewellers

Other sectors will only be considered on a case-by-case basis. Applications must an entire building or facility, including service areas.

For more information and how to apply, please visit SEAI’s website

  1. InterTradeIreland – Co-Innovate Programme

InterTradeIreland has recently launched the Co-Innovate programme, designed to help businesses in the border counties, Northern Ireland and Scotland to innovate, grow, and become more competitive, ultimately making your business more successful. Assistance is individually tailored to suit every company. Available support includes workshops, innovation audits, and one-on-one mentoring sessions.

Eligible candidates are SMEs in the manufacturing and tradable services sectors from the six border counties of Ireland, with 249 employees or fewer.

Businesses can register interest in Co-Innovate opportunities online here.  For more information, visit the Co-Innovate site here

  1. European Commission Call for Evaluators/Experts in innovation or investment

European Commissioner for Research, Science and Innovation, Carlos Moedas, has launched a call for evaluators with expertise in innovation or investment. Evaluators will be asked to review proposals submitted by SMEs from across the EU for funding to support the development of breakthrough innovations. This is part of the pilot European Innovation Council. In a later stage, evaluators will also interview the applicants and select the top innovators that are to be funded.

From autumn 2017, the EU’s research and innovation programme Horizon 2020 will support innovation projects from innovators, researchers, corporates and SMEs active in any sector or technology as they look to support breakthrough innovations that have the potential to create new markets. The aim is to identify companies and entrepreneurs with the potential and ambition to grow internationally, as part of a pilot European Innovation Council. Applications for EIC funding will need to be evaluated by experts in innovation. And the best SME applicants will be interviewed by a panel of expert evaluators.

The Commission is therefore looking to expand its pool of expert evaluators to include:

  • entrepreneurs who have started up and scaled up innovative enterprises at European or global level;
  • investors (including those affiliated with banks, venture capitalists, business angels, crowd-funders etc.);
  • experts involved in the innovation ecosystem (business schools, universities, innovation hubs, accelerators, etc.).

Interested experts can register interest online here

  1. Future of Fintech in Ireland and the UK

Chamber members are invited to a Fintech conference from 9.30am to 1pm on June 27th, held in the stunning Westin Hotel in Dublin. This event has been organised by the UK Department for International Trade and BITA.

This exclusive event will be moderated by Peter Oakes of Fintech Ireland and Fintech UK and will feature an impressive selection of speakers on a number of panel discussions and keynotes discussing the Irish and UK Fintech markets, the emerging area of Regtech, funding considerations for companies looking to scale and why the UK continues to be the location for Irish companies to take their business to the next level.

Confirmed speakers (with more to come) include:

Fexco, Solgari, Frontline Ventures, KPMG,  A&L Goodbody, Moqom, Risk System, Trezeo,

Invoice Fair

To register for the event, go to the Eventbrite page here: https://www.eventbrite.ie/e/the-future-of-fintech-in-ireland-and-the-uk-tickets-35199788515