Bord Bia’s fund to support Irish small-to-medium companies struggling in the wake of Brexit is to open for applications almost immediately, CEO of Bord Bia Aidan Cotter has said.
Speaking in Paris today, Cotter said the Marketing Intensification Programme (MIP) will consist of a total fund of €500,000-750,000.
“We are going to provide grant funding to small-to-medium sized companies. This is an innovative fund that opens almost immediately to help companies that have a particular exposure to the UK market.
“This fund is for marketing activities that they may wish to undertake over the next six months, specifically in response to the challenges that have come about as a result of Brexit,” he said.
On the issue of Brexit, Cotter said Bord Bia has put a number of activities in place to deal with the fallout from the UK’s decision to leave the European Union.
“These include the management of volatility, deepening customer engagement in the UK market, helping diversification in new markets and also investing in consumer insight.”
He added that the additional €2m fund that was provided to Bord Bia in Budget 2017 will allow the organisation to do much more in the year ahead.
“It is about two fundamental things; deepening our engagement in the UK market, we do not want to lose any business in the UK market and it is about intensifying diversification into other international markets.
The Eurozone is hugely important but also markets like Asia come into the equation, as six out of every 10 people in the world live in Asia.
“They have population growth, they have middle class growth and they have the buying power and that has to be a key focus in the future as well as in the Eurozone,” he said,
How will the grants work?
According to Bord Bia, grant supports will be prioritised to assist companies in strengthening their position in the UK market and in their efforts at market diversification.
The new grant is aimed at Irish food and drink producers that operate with a turnover between €1m-30m and that export at least 20% of its turnover to the UK, with 20-30 expected to be supported under the programme.
The closing date for receipt of applications for the MIP is October 28, 2016. Successful applicants will be notified in early November and complete the activity by April 30, 2017.