Author Archives Jim

About Jim

James is a director with JCR Network Services Ltd, which provides sales, marketing and business development expertise to local SMEs in Ireland and the UK. Many businesses have developed their growth strategies through our focussed actions. We specialise in helping the agri-food , emerging technology, manufacturing and services sectors.

InterTradeIreland Introduces Eight New Programs to Empower Women Entrepreneurs Across the Island of Ireland

Posted by Jim on September 17, 2024 / Posted in Blog

7 Sept 2024

InterTradeIreland, in partnership with Invest Northern Ireland and Enterprise Ireland, have introduced eight new entrepreneurship programmes designed to empower women and help them collaborate, learn, grow and scale their business.

In February 2024, the Government of Ireland announced €800m of funding for Shared Island priorities, including €30m towards the establishment of a new Shared Island Enterprise Scheme developed by InterTradeIreland, Invest Northern Ireland and Enterprise Ireland.

Alongside cross-border clusters and sustainability innovation investment, a key element of the Shared Island Enterprise Scheme is dedicated to fostering women’s entrepreneurship on an all-island basis. The first stage of this stream of work involves funding for early pilot programmes to empower women entrepreneurs across the island as detailed below. Further announcements as part of the wider Shared Island Enterprise Scheme will follow in the coming months.

InterTradeIreland, in collaboration with our key delivery partners, is delighted to introduce eight new innovative programmes to support and empower women entrepreneurs across the island of Ireland. We will facilitate the delivery of these programmes in partnership with Invest Northern Ireland and Enterprise Ireland, as we collectively strive to support women founders, business leaders and academics as they take their careers and businesses to the next level. We know the depth of talent and energy that exists here and we’re calling all women founders to get involved with these programmes and make the most of the fantastic opportunities and supports that they offer.

Alison Currie, Director of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at InterTradeIreland

The eight programmes which are designed to empower women entrepreneurs are open now for Expression of Interest. They are:

The Grow It programme, delivered by Women in Business and Network Ireland is for business owners, founders and directors or partners who are ready to take their business to the next level and have an interest in developing their sales and marketing all-island. Expressions of Interest will close on Monday 7th October at 1pm.
SheScales, delivered by AwakenHub is designed to empower women entrepreneurs to scale their businesses. Focus areas include business scaling strategies, knowledge and skill development and sustainable growth. Expressions of Interest will close Monday 30^th September at 1pm.
The Spark It programme, delivered by Women in Business and Network Ireland is aimed at women who have already been working on their business idea but are pre-revenue and need more support or are keen to seek external investment. Expressions of Interest will close on Monday 7th October at 1pm.
An open mindset and mechanisms that stimulate entrepreneurship are essential for fostering innovation and leveraging research outcomes. Engage, delivered by Alinea is a short, structured training programme to help identify new business opportunities and talent. Recognising the unique challenges women face in entrepreneurship, this programme is dedicated to offering additional support to help women navigate and overcome these obstacles. Applications will close Monday 30^thSeptember 1pm.
Evolve, delivered by Alinea is a rigorous, technical start-up programme designed to support the development of spin-out ventures. Over ten weeks, individuals and teams are introduced to proven start-up tools and methodologies, entrepreneurial role models and dynamic guest speakers. Applications will close Monday 30^th September 1pm.
Innovation Labs 1, delivered by TechFoundHer is a programme designed to empower women founders to leverage AI-driven tools for business efficiencies, comprehensive market research, customer insights and product / service innovation. The Labs offer immersive, hands-on, learning that empower women to use an innovation design thinking framework alongside no-code low-code and GenAI tools. Expressions of Interest will close on Wednesday 2nd October at 1pm.
The Angel Investor Masterclasses delivered by AwakenAngels is designed to provide aspiring and current angel investors with comprehensive insights into the world of angel investing. Research indicates that women are less likely to diversify their investment portfolios, with only 24% of women investing in assets beyond cash, compared to 35% of men. Participants will gain valuable insights into angel investing, enhance their financial literacy, and learn how to leverage their corporate expertise to support innovative start-ups. Expressions of Interest will close Monday 30^th September at 1pm.
The Deal Leader Training Programme delivered by AwakenAngels is aimed at women angels seeking to upskill in angel investing. It is designed for those who want to deepen their knowledge and expertise in evaluating investment opportunities, conducting thorough due diligence and making informed investment decisions. Expressions of Interest will close Monday 30^th September at 1pm.

All programmes can be applied for at https://intertradeireland.com/entrepreneurship/womens-entrepreneurship

and Enterprise Ireland, as we collectively strive to support women founders, business leaders and academics as they take their careers and businesses to the next level. We know the depth of talent and energy that exists here and we’re calling all women founders to get involved with these programmes and make the most of the fantastic opportunities and supports that they offer.

Alison Currie, Director of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at InterTradeIreland

The eight programmes which are designed to empower women entrepreneurs are open now for Expression of Interest. They are:

The Grow It programme, delivered by Women in Business and Network Ireland is for business owners, founders and directors or partners who are ready to take their business to the next level and have an interest in developing their sales and marketing all-island. Expressions of Interest will close on Monday 7th October at 1pm.
SheScales, delivered by AwakenHub is designed to empower women entrepreneurs to scale their businesses. Focus areas include business scaling strategies, knowledge and skill development and sustainable growth. Expressions of Interest will close Monday 30^th September at 1pm.
The Spark It programme, delivered by Women in Business and Network Ireland is aimed at women who have already been working on their business idea but are pre-revenue and need more support or are keen to seek external investment. Expressions of Interest will close on Monday 7th October at 1pm.
An open mindset and mechanisms that stimulate entrepreneurship are essential for fostering innovation and leveraging research outcomes. Engage, delivered by Alinea is a short, structured training programme to help identify new business opportunities and talent. Recognising the unique challenges women face in entrepreneurship, this programme is dedicated to offering additional support to help women navigate and overcome these obstacles. Applications will close Monday 30^thSeptember 1pm.
Evolve, delivered by Alinea is a rigorous, technical start-up programme designed to support the development of spin-out ventures. Over ten weeks, individuals and teams are introduced to proven start-up tools and methodologies, entrepreneurial role models and dynamic guest speakers. Applications will close Monday 30^th September 1pm.
Innovation Labs 1, delivered by TechFoundHer is a programme designed to empower women founders to leverage AI-driven tools for business efficiencies, comprehensive market research, customer insights and product / service innovation. The Labs offer immersive, hands-on, learning that empower women to use an innovation design thinking framework alongside no-code low-code and GenAI tools. Expressions of Interest will close on Wednesday 2nd October at 1pm.
The Angel Investor Masterclasses delivered by AwakenAngels is designed to provide aspiring and current angel investors with comprehensive insights into the world of angel investing. Research indicates that women are less likely to diversify their investment portfolios, with only 24% of women investing in assets beyond cash, compared to 35% of men. Participants will gain valuable insights into angel investing, enhance their financial literacy, and learn how to leverage their corporate expertise to support innovative start-ups. Expressions of Interest will close Monday 30^th September at 1pm.
The Deal Leader Training Programme delivered by AwakenAngels is aimed at women angels seeking to upskill in angel investing. It is designed for those who want to deepen their knowledge and expertise in evaluating investment opportunities, conducting thorough due diligence and making informed investment decisions. Expressions of Interest will close Monday 30^th September at 1pm.

All programmes can be applied for at https://intertradeireland.com/entrepreneurship/womens-entrepreneurship

Procurement Act 2023

Posted by Jim on September 13, 2024 / Posted in Blog

The Procurement Process - netlogx

Today the Cabinet office announced that the Procurement Act 2023 will now commence on 24 February 2025 – a delay of four months from the original go-live date of 28 October 2024. This delay was announced to allow the British Government time to develop a new National Procurement Policy Statement (NPPS). The NPPS which sets out the Government’s strategic policy priorities for public procurement is an essential element of the Procurement Act (for England), and the new Labour Government felt it crucial that the new regime should commence with a statutory NPPS aligned to it’s priorities. This NPPS does not apply to Northern Ireland which means the substantive content of the Procurement Act 2023 and implementing legislation, The Procurement Regulations 2024, will remain largely unchanged in their application to our jurisdiction. Further information and updates are accessible via the link attached. Transforming Public Procurement – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/transforming-public-procurement

Medical Technology Ireland Expo and Conference

Posted by Jim on August 07, 2024 / Posted in Blog

I’m attending! Join me at Medical Technology Ireland 2024 https://invt.io/1ixb1bagb0f

Medical Technology Ireland Registration

Medical Technology Ireland Expo and Conference

25-26 September 2024, Galway Racecourse

Europe’s second largest and fastest growing medical device design and manufacturing Show!

Visiting Medical Technology Ireland 2024?
Register for FREE entry to the Exhibition, Conference and Women in MedTech Forum

Don’t miss the German Pavilion on 2nd Floor, incorporating 26 German supply chain companies. Find out more

Posted by Jim on July 31, 2024 / Posted in Blog

The Northern Ireland Manufacturing & Supply Chain Conference & Exhibition 2024!

The Northern Ireland Manufacturing & Supply Chain Conference & Exhibition in partnership with the Advanced Manufacturing Innovation Centre, is taking place at the Titanic Exhibition Centre, Belfast on the 12th September 2024. Now in its 5th year, the event is a mainstay in the calendar for the manufacturing and supply chain community in Northern Ireland.

The event is FREE to attend, please click here to register for your ticket!

The key themes of the event this year are;

Sustainability, Renewable Energy & Climate Tech
Robotics & Automation
Digital Transformation
Precision Engineering & 3D Printing
Supply Chain & Logistics
Lean, Productivity & Continuous Improvement
Industry 4.0

We will have an array of keynote speakers across all our stages, with over 60 speakers expected, there will be an abundance of informative and educational presentations for you to attend. Some of our current speakers include;

Sam Turner, Chief Executive Officer, Advanced Manufacturing Innovation Centre
Ian Gardner, Account Technical Lead, IBM
Tristan McCallum, Senior Technologist, IDA Ireland
Róisín Fitzpatrick, Partner, Deloitte
Dick Clerkin, Managing Director, Clerkin Consulting
William Ussher, Senior Executive, Manufacturing Systems, Centre for Competitiveness
Niamh Kenny, Chair of RenewableNI’s Offshore Wind Group, Renewable NI
Cherie Gardiner, Programme Manager, Manufacturing and Materials, Innovate UK
Glenn Rutherford, Senior Manufacturing Engineer, Queen’s University Belfast
Paul Quinn, Lead Additive Manufacturing Applications and Training Engineer, Inspire 3D
Mark Price, Professor of Aeronautics, Queen’s University Belfast
Tina Calder, Chief Vision Officer, Excalibur Press
Lee Bristow, CEO, Risk Copilot Limited
Dr Mary Harte, Northern Ireland Contact Point for Engineering, Manufacturing, Materials, Transport, Horizon Europe
Thomas Cornthwaite, UK Operations, DiManEx
Cherrie Stewart, Chartered Trade Mark Attorney, Ansons

To top it all off, we will have over 100 exhibitors at the event for you to network and collaborate with, these include the Advance Manufacturing Innovation Centre, Kempston Controls, Inspire 3D, Bowers Group, JL Goor Ltd, AJ Hurst, Schneider Electric, Rielly Plastics, Target Integrations, Impact Ireland Metals NI, 3D Technology, Advanced Manufacturing Training Centre of Excellence, Lenalea Electronics, Vision 3D Solutions, Carfulan Group, Fast Technologies and many more.

This is a fantastic opportunity for you to connect and support the manufacturing and supply chain sector in Northern Ireland.

REGISTER NOW! CLICK HERE!

We look forward to seeing you at the event!

Best Regards,

The Northern Ireland Manufacturing & Supply Chain Conference & Exhibition Team

There are only 3 weeks to go until Scotland’s largest free procurement event!

Posted by Jim on May 15, 2024 / Posted in Blog

Image result for supplier development progrmme scotland

Join SDP, and our headline partners Scottish Government and Scotland Excel, on Wednesday 5 June 2024 at Hampden Park.

Meet the Buyer National is a free to attend event, which connects suppliers with public sector procurement teams, private sector main contractors, and business support organisations. Come along to meet with procurement teams, buyers and supply chains to learn about upcoming projects and tender opportunities locally, nationally within Scotland and across the UK.

Bringing together over 80+ organisations, Meet the Buyer 2024 promises to be our biggest event yet! With a range of exhibitors from Local Authorities, to Construction, Education, Transport, and so much more, there is something for every business. View the full list of exhibitors here.

Alongside networking, you will be able to hear from a range of speakers, including: Nikki Archer, Deputy Director, Head of Procurement and Commercial Policy & Strategy at Scottish Government, Councillor Ruari Kelly, and Joseph Drugan, Social Value Manager at hub South West Scotland, as well as many more…

In addition to this, you will also be able to have your questions answered by representatives from all four of Scotland’s Procurement Centres of Expertise: Scottish Government, Advanced Procurement for Universities and Colleges (APUC), NHS National Procurement, and Scotland Excel, during a panel discussion. View the full agenda here.

If your business can attend just one event this year, make it Meet the Buyer 2024!

Book your free place now!

Contact us

Supplier Development Programme

· E: info@sdpscotland.co.uk

· W: www.sdpscotland.co.uk

· A: Council Offices, Almada Street (Beckford Street annexe), Hamilton ML3 0AA

· Facebook | Twitter | LinkedIn | YouTube

Access to the old eTenders website is ending soon

Posted by Jim on April 17, 2024 / Posted in Blog

Gov - project logo In 2023, the national electronic tendering website eTenders, switched to a new service provider. To enable ongoing access to past procurement competition data that was hosted on the old website public buyers and suppliers have been able to access the old) eTenders website. This is changing soon, and access to the old website is ceasing in May 2024.

Public procurement buyers should take action now to make sure that they keep the procurement competition data they need.

What changes are taking place?

The national electronic tendering platform eTenders switched to a new service provider in May 2023, marking the first time in a decade that the system had changed to a new provider.

The national electronic tendering website eTenders switched to a new service provider in May 2023, marking the first time in a decade that the website had changed to a new provider.

While eTenders was never intended to be used for long-term record keeping, for some public buyers, the old eTenders website may have been used as part of their approach to meeting their record keeping and data retention obligations. However, the national public procurement guidelines clearly state that “eTenders should not be used as a storage facility and that all relevant documentation records should be maintained off the platform by the contracting authority”. On that basis, and due to scale, complexity and associated risks to data integrity, past procurement competition data could not be transferred from the old eTenders website to the current eTenders website

To facilitate access to past procurement data during this changeover period since May 2023, the previous eTenders website has remained online and accessible to buyers and suppliers. However, access to the old site will end for all users in May 2024, and the OGP is encouraging public procurement buyers to take action now to make sure they retrieve the procurement competition data required from the old website in advance of this date.

What files and data will be affected?

Any data associated with past procurement competitions that was published on the old website will be affected. In the majority of cases, this will mean any procurement competition that was published before 15 May 2023 (before the launch of the current eTenders website).

What action do I need to take?

There are three key steps public buyers should take to retrieve data associated with past procurement competitions from the old eTenders website :

• 1) Close: Close any procurement competition on the old site that you want to retrieve data for.

• 2) Archive: Closed competitions can now be moved to the Archive area on the old eTenders site.

• 3) Download: Once a procurement competition has been closed and moved to the Archive area, you can download the Archive file to your designated local storage location.

You can find a more detailed guide on how to download files from the old eTenders system below.

Will I be able to access the files on the old website after May 2024?

No, you will not be able to access any files that were stored on the old system after May 2024. Access to the old website will cease in May 2024.

Who can I contact if I have any issues?

if you encounter any issues relating to closing or archiving competitions on the old eTenders website you can contact EU Supply, at 021 243 9277, or email etenders@eu-supply.com.

National Manufacturing & Supply Chain Exhibition and Conference 2024

Posted by Jim on April 16, 2024 / Posted in Blog

National Manufacturing & Supply Chain Exhibition and Conference 2024

Tuesday, 28 May.

RDS Simmonscourt

Simmonscourt Road Dublin 4 Ireland

The National Manufacturing & Supply Chain Conference & Exhibition will now be run over two days at RDS Simmonscourt, Dublin on May 28th & 29th 2024.

The conference will be of interest to senior management, established practising engineers and researchers together with those that are much earlier in their careers.

Delegates have registered from leading food, pharmaceutical, medical, chemical, electronics and engineering manufacturing sectors.

Manufacturers small and large from across the country will gather to challenge political decision makers to deliver a business environment which manufacturing deserves. Delegates attending the conference will:

– gain industry insights to help their business plan ahead

– share good practice and learn from each other’s experience

– connected with senior business leaders to find new business opportunities

– meet with key technology providers in the dedicated exhibition area

Visitors are free to move between the different events.

Northern Ireland Manufacturing & Supply Chain Conference & Exhibition 2024

Posted by Jim on April 16, 2024 / Posted in Blog

Thu, 12 Sep 2024 09:00 – 16:00 BST Northern Ireland Manufacturing & Supply Chain Conference & Exhibition 2024

Thu, 12 Sep 2024 09:00 – 16:00

Join us at the 2024 Northern Ireland Manufacturing & Supply Chain Expo is being held in the Titanic Exhibition Centre, Belfast on 12th September to hear from an impressive line-up of manufacturing leaders, academics and government agencies who will engage in a stimulating blend of key note addresses and debates.

Creating an Innovative Manufacturing & Supply chain Ecosystem

New approaches and technology have been introduced in recent years that have created significant organisational and process improvements. The aim of the conference is to showcase such innovative approaches and to disseminate the cutting edge research that underpins them.

The conference will be of interest to senior management, established practicing engineers and researchers together with those that are much earlier in their careers.

Delegates have registered from leading food, pharmaceutical, medical, chemical, electronics and engineering manufacturing sectors.

Manufacturers small and large from across the Northern Ireland will gather to challenge political decision makers to deliver a business environment which manufacturing deserves. Delegates attending the conference will:

Key Topics included:

Procurement, Lean Manufacturing, Control & Automation, Supply Chain Optimisation, Information Technology Logistics,Energy Management & Sustainability, Project Management, Automation & Robotics

Resource Efficiency Capital Grant

Posted by Jim on April 10, 2024 / Posted in Blog

Heads up to all clients-if you are an InvestNI client then this new Resource Efficiency Capital Grant may be the way to help with the cost of investing in resource efficient technologies that will drive savings and business productivity. The next call for applications will open on Wednesday 10 April and close at 17:00, Thursday 16 May 2024
This project is part-funded by the UK government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund.

Call 2 of the Digital Transformation Flexible Fund (DTFF) will open for expressions of interest on 4 March 2024

Posted by Jim on March 01, 2024 / Posted in Blog

The DTFF aims to help small and micro businesses in Northern Ireland to invest in advanced digital technologies. It establishes a grant fund to support eligible businesses with investments in capital equipment that is critical to achieving their digital transformation ambitions.

The focus of the fund is on innovative technologies, such as:

smart environments and the Internet of Things
simulation, process automation and additive manufacturing
big data and analytics
immersive technologies
artificial intelligence and machine learning
blockchain technologies and more

To be eligible, capital investments must enable business transformation rather than simply digitisation of existing business models or operations.

Funding is available between £5,000 and £20,000 for an investment project. If eligible, the grant can fund up to 70% of the cost of the total value of a project. Applicants must match-fund a minimum of 30% of the overall project costs.