The Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation, Heather Humphreys today launched a new Regional Technology Clustering Fund which will be administered through Enterprise Ireland. The launch of the multi-annual competitive fund took place at Dundalk Institute of Technology in Co. Louth with an initial budget of €2.75 million.

This fund is an initiative of the Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation under Project Ireland 2040 and aligns with the Department’s Future Jobs Ireland, and with Enterprise Ireland’s new regional plan ‘Powering the Regions’ to build scale and expand the reach of Irish exporting businesses. It will be comprised of two streams relating to new enterprise clustering and existing enterprise clustering. The closing date for applications is 11 September 2019.

This fund is an initiative of the Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation under Project Ireland 2040 and aligns with the Department’s Future Jobs Ireland, and with Enterprise Ireland’s new regional plan ‘Powering the Regions’ to build scale and expand the reach of Irish exporting businesses.

Speaking today, Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation, Heather Humphreys said, "I am delighted to announce a new Regional Technology Clustering Fund to support enterprise in the regions. Many EU countries have already developed cluster policies to strengthen co-operation between industry and research. They have proven to be very successful, so the Government wants to strengthen our activity in this space. Having visited businesses and communities all over the country, I firmly believe that collaboration is the new competitive advantage, so I hope to see plenty of new relationships developing between Higher Education Institutions and businesses through this Fund."

Source: www.businessworld.ie