Tanaiste Announces £10 Million eBusiness Fund for Irish Companies Enterprise Ireland Strategic Initiative Campaign to Boost Number of Companies Transacting eBusiness

Mary Harney, Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment today, (Thursday 2 March 2000) announced the establishment by Enterprise Ireland of a £10 Million eBusiness fund to boost the number of Irish companies transacting business across electronic networks. Speaking during a visit to Galway the Tánaiste said that eBusiness offers the potential to radically enhance the scale and pace of the growth of Irish enterprise.

"The revolution that is E Business means that a salesman can sell his product or service around the globe without so much as setting foot outside his office. Relationships with customers, suppliers, and business partners are thus being redefined. The new information and communications technologies enable this revolutionary change. Irish companies can now avail of eBusiness so as to grow their business rapidly and profitably. The reality is that companies now must be involved in eBusiness or not be in business at all. That is why this Enterprise Ireland initiative is so important," the Tánaiste said.

"This initiative will operate over a two year time frame. It is designed to facilitate the rapid development of significant scale projects within existing businesses in the manufacturing and international services sectors so as to enable them to trade electronically.

"The fund will be run on a competitive basis and it is envisaged that there will be at least two calls for proposals. Projects which receive support will typically have the potential to encourage all other companies in their sector to also embrace the eBusiness revolution. The details of the fund will be announced by the end of March.

"eBusiness can be made to happen anywhere given the required infrastructure and the people with the capability to use it. Geography and location will not be an issue. In future we will be able to have markets which although spread much further afield are in fact more easily accessible. Technology is making this happen much more quickly.

"The eBusiness fund is a central part of Enterprise Ireland's strategy to generate awareness of the opportunities presented while at the same time building the capability of Irish companies to take advantage of them" the Tánaiste said.

Dan Flinter Chief Executive Officer of Enterprise Ireland said "Our own analysis clearly indicates the strategic importance of eBusiness for Irish companies. This analysis together with feedback from our clients has resulted in the development of our strategic eBusiness initiative. Irish companies are keenly interested in: eStrategy development and implementation; skills acquisition and development; continuous updating on new developments in areas such as online marketing, customer relationship management, supply chain management, and logistics. Our response in addition to the establishment of the eBusiness fund is the launch of a series of solutions which include:

• eBusiness Resource Website - www.enterprise-ireland.com/ebusiness
• eBusiness Telephone HelpLine (1850 57 2000)
• Workshops and Seminars
• Flagship Conferences
• National Awareness Campaign
• Building International Partnerships
• Advice and support in developing eBusiness Strategy
• Establishment of an Enterprise Ireland eBusiness Unit".

"The acceleration of the adoption by Irish companies of best eBusiness practice is a major priority for Enterprise Ireland and we will be developing further initiatives and actions on a regular basis" Dan Flinter concluded.