Bizstartup.ie - NewsFirst ever Fingal Enterprise Week

Serial Irish entrepreneurs including Bill Cullen and Nicola Byrne are amongst those taking part in Fingal Enterprise Week.

Having run the event over a single day for the past four years, the event will now run from Monday, 27 September to Friday, 1 October with seminars, workshops and clinics throughout the region. 

A varied schedule of seminars and speakers

The week’s schedule includes ‘The Business Panel Q&A’ with John Bowman; ‘Finance and Funding’ seminar with RTÉ’s personal finance correspondent, George Lee;  ‘New Opportunities – Innovation and Green Business’ featuring speakers from the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland and the Ecology Foundation; ‘E-Business Ireland’ seminar with representatives of Cisco, Realex Payments and the Irish Internet Association, concluding on the final day with SME case studies and the Fingal Enterprise Awards.

“Every County and City Enterprise Board has reported an explosion in the demand for information and advice around setting up a new business. Added to this is the strong demand for business support services from companies affected by the current economic environment. In Fingal, the number of people seeking our assistance over the past two years has doubled,” said Oisin Geoghegan, CEO with Fingal Enterprise Board (pictured).

Bill Cullen's advice to start-ups

“There are still plenty of business opportunities out there, but you have to go out and find them,” according to Bill Cullen of The Apprentice TV series and founder of the Europa Academy in Swords, the location for several of the Fingal Enterprise Week events.

“My advice to small business owners and new start-ups is to open up your own window of opportunity, roll up your sleeves and prepare for the tough road ahead. There are state agencies out there, such as the Fingal Enterprise Board, who can help prepare you for that road.”

Mentoring clinics, networking sessions and information seminars also feature heavily in the line-up and organisers expect to attract over 2,000 people to Fingal Enterprise Week.

The full schedule of events, which is supported by Fingal County Council, Bank of Ireland and Newstalk is available here.

Photo: Bill Cullen chatting with Oisin Geoghegan, CEO, Fingal County Enterprise and organiser of Fingal Enterprise Week