Diarmuid Moloney of Rotor and Celine Magill of Art on Fashion with Tracy Meharg, Invest NI’s Executive Director of Business Solutions (centre).
Invest Northern Ireland is calling on local innovative start-ups, who can demonstrate their potential to succeed and scale-up in international markets to apply for its Propel programme. The programme offers a unique opportunity for Northern Ireland based entrepreneurs to fast track their business ideas, develop intensive growth plans and explore global prospects.
Now calling for applications to its 2013/2014 programme, Propel is open to those with an innovative product or service, or an export focused business idea in the advanced planning stages, and is aimed at cultivating successful NI based businesses with the potential to become significant exporters and employers.
Offering intensive business development workshops, specialist advice from local and international experts and introductions to potential investors, the programme also provides participants access to shared working space and vital financial support. Extensive one-to-one mentoring is also a key element of the programme, helping participants with specific challenges associated with their business.
Niall Casey, Invest NI’s Director of Skills and Strategy said: “Propel provides a dynamic culture and environment for creative, ambitious individuals who have an export focused product or service capable of commercialisation within 6-8 months. The programme’s credentials have already been proven over the past three years with over 56 new local companies accessing over £4m of investment and creating over 100 jobs.”
“Our participant businesses to date have been diverse and widespread- from consumer focused products to business solutions software- and we are now looking for more high calibre entrepreneurs to build on this success. The closing date is 26th September 2013, with the programme officially beginning in November 2013, and the online application information can be found at www.propelprogramme.co.uk”
Diarmuid Moloney – the founder of ‘Rotor’, an online tool designed to create quick and customised music videos with a professional finish, is currently taking part in Invest NI’s Propel programme. Commenting on his experience to date, he says:
“The support I’ve received has been invaluable. Since engaging with the programme I have developed a much clearer blueprint for what exactly my business is and how it needs to be developed. I’ve also explored who my markets are and how to reach them, what I need to do in order to prepare myself for investment and the structures that need to be in place in order to make ‘Rotor’ a success.”
To launch the Propel programme and outline how it can help turn an idea into a globally focused business, Invest NI is running 5 regional awareness seminars during September in Armagh, Cookstown, Antrim, Londonderry and Belfast. For more information on the events or to register, go to www.investni.com/events.
The events will take place on:
2nd September – Armagh City Hotel
3rd September – Glenavon Hotel, Cookstown
4th September – Antrim Civic Centre
5th September – White Horse Hotel, Derry
6th September – Belfast Met E3
For more information or to apply log on to www.propelprogramme.co.uk, email propel@investni.com or call 0870 495 4841.
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