Economic
Development
 There
are a variety of government agencies and other organizations that
have been created with the purpose of assisting and driving both
economic and social development throughout the region. They include:
- Sligo County Enterprise Board
- Western Development
Commission
- Enterprise Ireland
- IDA (Industrial Development
Agency) Ireland
An in-depth discussion of these
various bodies is beyond the scope of this website, but below is a
brief description of each organization along with a link to their
website.
Sligo County Enterprise Board was
established in 1993 by the then Minister for Enterprise and
Employment with the aim of filling a gap, which had become apparent
in the support services for local enterprises.
The Board is part of a nation-wide network of City and County
Enterprise Boards. The role of the Board is to provide support for
small business promoters in the form of grant assistance,
development of company management skills, provision of advice,
training, mentoring, counselling and other information, as well as
the development of an enterprise culture in the County.
Western
Development Commission
Link:
http://www.wdc.ie
The
Western Development Commission (WDC) is a statutory body created in
1999 to promote economic and social development in counties Donegal,
Sligo, Leitrim, Roscommon, Mayo, Galway and Clare. The WDC is
involved in policy analysis and development, the promotion of
regional initiatives and the operation of the WDC Investment Fund.
The WDC is responsible for the
management and administration of the €32 million Western Investment
Fund (WIF) which provides risk capital by way of equity and loans,
on a commercial basis, to projects and businesses. The Chairperson
and members of the Western Development Commission are appointed by
the Minister for Community, Rural
and Gaeltacht Affairs, Mr Éamon Ó Cuív, TD.
The work of the WDC is organized
around four strategic aims.
Enterprise
Ireland
Link:
http://www.enterprise-ireland.com
Enterprise Ireland is the Irish
state development agency focused on transforming Irish
industry. Its core mission is to accelerate the development of
world-class Irish companies to achieve strong positions in global
markets resulting in increased national and regional prosperity.
Through an extensive network of 13
Irish offices (including one in Sligo) and 33 international
offices, the organization works with clients to assist them to
compete and to grow. The focus, for Irish companies, is on five main
areas of activity:
- Achieving export sales
- Investing in research and
innovation
- Competing through
productivity
- Starting up & scaling up
businesses
- Driving regional enterprise
Enterprise Ireland also provides
assistance for international companies who are searching for
world-class Irish suppliers and they can help international
companies who want to set up food and drink manufacturing operations
in Ireland.
IDA Ireland
Link: http://www.ida.ie
IDA Ireland
(Industrial Development Agency) is an Irish Government agency with
responsibility for securing new investment from overseas in
manufacturing and internationally traded services sectors. It also
encourages existing investors to expand and develop their
businesses.
Over 1,050 overseas companies have
chosen to invest in Ireland as their European base and are involved
in a wide range of activities in sectors as diverse as e-Business,
engineering, information communications technologies,
pharmaceuticals, medical technologies, financial and international
services. The IDA office is located in Finisklin Business Park about
a mile from the town centre.
If you are interested in learning
more about economic development in Sligo and the surrounding region,
we encourage to to follow the links above to each agency.
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