Enterprise Ireland starts ecommerce fund for Irish retailers

Enterprise Ireland, a government organization aimed to let Irish enterprises grow, has opened a ecommerce fund to accelerate the online offering of retailers in Ireland and to increase their competitiveness. The 1.25 million euros fund opened last Wednesday and will remain open for six weeks.

Enterprise Ireland announced the opening of the first call last week, explaining that a total of 625,000 euros has been made available under the first competitive call under this new scheme. The fund will award grants ranging from 10,000 to 25,000 euros.

‘Support retailers and increase competitiveness’

“The purpose is to support online retailers to enhance their online sales capabilities to increase competitiveness and subsequently scale their businesses particularly in international markets”, the organization explains.

“The retail sector plays a huge role in the economic fabric of Ireland. Many retailers are increasingly facing international competition on their own doorstep through the growth of online retailing. It is important therefore that we encourage sustained growth of the retail sector in Ireland by providing the mechanisms with which retailers can actively develop wider offerings online”, Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation, Heather Humphreys, said.

He launched the scheme, which is open to applications from retail SMEs with 20 to 249 employees based across the island of Ireland and who have a retail outlet.