Significant Savings of €1.1million Made through Novel Approach take to Fund the Centre.
Mr Phil Hogan, Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government officially opened Dungarvan's Enterprise Centre on Friday. Speaking at the opening Minister Hogan commended the partnership between the local community, the local development agencies and private business that led to the provision of the Enterprise Centre the Main Street of the Town. The Enterprise Centre will provide office space, conference facilities and business mentoring services to business start-ups in West Waterford.
According to the Mayor of Dungarvan, Teresa Wright, 'a Community - Public - Private Partnership approach was taken to the development of the centre. The local community entered into a lease agreement with Glanbia, owners of the building, to develop it as an enterprise centre. The community then received grant aid from Waterford LEADER Partnership to make the building fit for use for start-up businesses in the town. This approach saved significant funding, and brings regeneration to Dungarvan Town Centre' Mayor Wright added.
Fearghal Reidy, Economic Development Officer at Waterford County Council explained how the savings were achieved. The original plan was to construct a €1.3million enterprise centre on the outskirts of Dungarvan. However, the community group was unable to raise the borrowings required to complete the project. They approached Glanbia, who own a vacant building on Main Street, Dungarvan, who agreed to enter into a lease agreement with the community to develop the enterprise centre. The costs reduced from €1.3million to €200,000 a saving of €1.1million, while still providing the same enterprise space and facilities.
'The beauty of this is three fold' stated Denis McCarthy, Waterford County Manager. 'It provides entrepreneurs with space required to start their businesses, it brings regeneration to the Main Street of Dungarvan, adding to the vibrancy of the Town and it is delivered in a cost effective way' Mr McCarthy highlighted that the enterprise centre is a key element of a five year economic plan that Waterford County Council is implementing. 'The plan is yielding real results, the Dungarvan centre is one of a network of Community Enterprise Centres in the County, including Dunhill, Cappoquin, Lismore, Tallow and the Innovation Centre at WIT'. Mr McCarthy thanked the voluntary committee who developed the centre. 'This centre is a fine example of the work of communities throughout the County'.
The Dungarvan Enterprise Centre is a one-stop-shop for business start-ups in County Waterford. The County Enterprise Board has already taken up offices at the Centre, and offers a range of financial supports and mentoring for eligible businesses. The Centre also received a grant from Enterprise Ireland to employ a Manager, Margaret Durand. Ms Durand has a marketing background, and is an experienced in business mentoring. 'The centre offers businesses start-ups with a great location in the heart of Dungarvan' stated Margaret. Offices are well specified, with CAT 5 telecommunications infrastructure. Offices, ranging in size, are available to let at very reasonable rates. 'We have devised a letting agreement that is not too onerous on businesses, who face enough bureaucracy when starting up. Businesses can also use the conference facilities and the full range of mentoring support that are available at the Centre' stated Ms Durand.
For further information on Dungarvan Enterprise Centre contact Margaret Durand at Tel 058 - 23598
Showing posts with label Press Releases. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Press Releases. Show all posts
Speed Show Does the Business
Dungarvan & West Waterford Chamber, in association with Waterford WEN, hosted the region's first 'Speed Show' on Tuesday 21st Feb at Dungarvan Enterprise Centre. The event was very well attended, with a wide variety of local businesses coming along to grab opportunities and share referrals.
The Speed Show marries two concepts; speed networking and show your business. Speed networking is a unique means of introducing your business to a large number of people in a short space of time through rapid dedicated one-to-one time with a number of different contacts. Based loosely around the idea of speed dating, speed networking sees business-owners move around a room sharing business cards and referrals with at least fifteen other businesses.
Show Your Business offers a two-minute showcase where a business owner can unashamedly promote their business to a captive audience. The speed show slots were assigned through a lottery which saw Tracy Quinlan of Evolve Training & Recruitment Centre, Karen Dempsey of Karen Dempsey Photography, Éimhín Ní Chonchúir of The Marketing Table, Emma Penruddock of iamofireland and David Walsh of Better Finance introduce their businesses to the attendees whilst benefitting from the opportunity to ask for specific referrals and state why you should buy from them.
"As a women's enterprise network, we enjoy working with Dungarvan Chamber to help broaden our network members' pool of contacts and help drive opportunities through the local business community,C says Mags Durand O'Connor, network manager, "we look forward to organising more events with Chamber as the year goes on." If you would like further information on upcoming Dungarvan Chamber events, please go to www.dungarvanchamber.ie and for further information on Waterford WEN or Dungarvan Enterprise Centre please contact mags@makenmarketing.com
The Speed Show marries two concepts; speed networking and show your business. Speed networking is a unique means of introducing your business to a large number of people in a short space of time through rapid dedicated one-to-one time with a number of different contacts. Based loosely around the idea of speed dating, speed networking sees business-owners move around a room sharing business cards and referrals with at least fifteen other businesses.
Show Your Business offers a two-minute showcase where a business owner can unashamedly promote their business to a captive audience. The speed show slots were assigned through a lottery which saw Tracy Quinlan of Evolve Training & Recruitment Centre, Karen Dempsey of Karen Dempsey Photography, Éimhín Ní Chonchúir of The Marketing Table, Emma Penruddock of iamofireland and David Walsh of Better Finance introduce their businesses to the attendees whilst benefitting from the opportunity to ask for specific referrals and state why you should buy from them.
"As a women's enterprise network, we enjoy working with Dungarvan Chamber to help broaden our network members' pool of contacts and help drive opportunities through the local business community,C says Mags Durand O'Connor, network manager, "we look forward to organising more events with Chamber as the year goes on." If you would like further information on upcoming Dungarvan Chamber events, please go to www.dungarvanchamber.ie and for further information on Waterford WEN or Dungarvan Enterprise Centre please contact mags@makenmarketing.com
Dungarvan Enterprise Centre Open for Business
Dungarvan Enterprise Centre, located at lower Main Street, Dungarvan has opened for business. The aim of the centre is to foster, develop and support small business in West Waterford. The centre offers affordable serviced office space in a central location in addition to business support, mentoring and training.
"Self-employment is hugely rewarding but the fact remains it can be difficult to get a business off the ground," says centre manager Margaret Durand, "Office space can be costly and there is a steep learning curve when you take in all the legal, operational and financial aspects of a new business. Added to this, working for yourself can be both isolating and stressful. Our shared office space offers an opportunity to develop your business in a dynamic, supportive environment. We want to create a buzzing hub of enterprising activity, while offering practical assistance to our tenant businesses."
Office space at the centre is affordable, starting at €175 all inclusive per month, with plans to develop a hot desk offering in the near future. The centre also offers meeting and training room space. The presence of Waterford County Enterprise Board at the centre is a huge advantage for tenants, translating to accessible onsite business advice and support. Having helped to create over eighty jobs in the region in 2011, Waterford County Enterprise Board has a strong track record in offering financial, advisory and training support to start-up and developing businesses.
As a promoter of enterprise development, the centre will offer business training to the local community in areas such as social media, marketing, finance, sales, PR, HR and accounting. The first training programme to run will be a bite-size lunchtime workshop on using Facebook to promote your business. This workshop will offer practical tips and advice for using Facebook effectively. For further information on Dungarvan Enterprise Centre or upcoming training simply contact Mags at 058 23598 or dungarvanec@gmail.com
"Self-employment is hugely rewarding but the fact remains it can be difficult to get a business off the ground," says centre manager Margaret Durand, "Office space can be costly and there is a steep learning curve when you take in all the legal, operational and financial aspects of a new business. Added to this, working for yourself can be both isolating and stressful. Our shared office space offers an opportunity to develop your business in a dynamic, supportive environment. We want to create a buzzing hub of enterprising activity, while offering practical assistance to our tenant businesses."
Office space at the centre is affordable, starting at €175 all inclusive per month, with plans to develop a hot desk offering in the near future. The centre also offers meeting and training room space. The presence of Waterford County Enterprise Board at the centre is a huge advantage for tenants, translating to accessible onsite business advice and support. Having helped to create over eighty jobs in the region in 2011, Waterford County Enterprise Board has a strong track record in offering financial, advisory and training support to start-up and developing businesses.
As a promoter of enterprise development, the centre will offer business training to the local community in areas such as social media, marketing, finance, sales, PR, HR and accounting. The first training programme to run will be a bite-size lunchtime workshop on using Facebook to promote your business. This workshop will offer practical tips and advice for using Facebook effectively. For further information on Dungarvan Enterprise Centre or upcoming training simply contact Mags at 058 23598 or dungarvanec@gmail.com
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
