Request for the SME Retail Programme 2020

Tender description

Please note: The delivery of this programme will commence as soon as circumstances pertaining to Covid-19 allow. As part of a special economic stimulus package for the Border Region (Counties Louth, Cavan, Monaghan, Donegal, Sligo and Leitrim in the Republic of Ireland) announced by Enterprise Ireland in January 2020, the Local Enterprise Offices (LEOs) in the six local authority Border counties will receive additional funding to deliver capability development programmes across a number of key pillars of enterprise support during 2020. The aim of this specific suite of development programmes is to drive economic activity in the region and ensure that businesses have the capability and capacity to mitigate the impact of BREXIT. The LEOs in the North West Region, led by LEO Sligo, now propose to deliver a SME Retail Programme in 2020 which will be run in 3 locations in Counties Sligo, Leitrim and Donegal. This contract will be completed by Sligo County Council on behalf of LEOs Donegal, Sligo and Leitrim Despite until recently Ireland’s buoyant economy, many small retailer and service sector businesses were experiencing significant challenges and very few had a sustainable Strategic Plan for Growth, Development and Profitability. While this is true across the Country, Ireland’s border counties have always had additional challenges posed by cross border traffic. Now, Covid-19 has exacerbated the problem hugely and the potentially serious and many unknown implications of Brexit remain. In this regard, the Local Enterprise Offices (LEOs) in Counties Sligo, Leitirm and Donegal wish to provide a practical management skills development and business improvement programme for SME Retailers under the Irish Government’s “Border Region Brexit Stimulus Package”. The delivery of this programme will commence as soon as circumstances pertaining to Covid-19 allow. This “SME Retail Programme 2020” should specifically be designed to meet this requirement and the needs of SME Retail (and relevant Service Sector)