THE International Fund for Ireland has earmarked money for the third phase of the partnership programme between US and Irish companies. It is also looking at extending the idea to Europe and Australia.
The North American Partnership Programme, which is in the middle of its second phase, will be kept going, the fund's directors and Forbairt said at the weekend.
The programme, which helps companies in the six border counties to develop strategic links and deals with larger firms in the US, was initiated by Mr Willie McCarter, president of the international fund.
The IFI has now earmarked around £300,000 for the third phase of the project which will be launched towards the end of this year, according to Mr Brendan MacNamara, deputy joint director general.
So far in the second phase NAPP has worked with 10 companies and is set to bring at least another five on board, Mr Nick Mernagh, Forbairt's manager for the programme said.
Almost half of these companies are in the information technology sector, while the others range from a wood products company, a mechanical engineering firm, a plastics company, a firm in the beverages industry, as well as a fishing trawler manufacturing company.
Mr Patrick Murphy, president of Pan Atlantic Consultants, which runs the programme from the US side, said three deals have already been put together and he is hoping that at least six will be done altogether. The three firms which have entered into deals include a food company which has a joint venture agreement, a chemical coating company and a contract furnishers.
Mr Murphy, who was also appointed by President Clinton to the National Advisory Council of the Small Business Administration in the US, insisted that companies which participate in the programme without winning a deal still benefit from the strategic analysis of their companies.
According to Mr Murphy, another benefit of participating in the programme is easier access to venture capital. Three companies from the last programme won venture capital funds of around £1 million. "It would have been very difficult for them to get access to that money if they hadn't participated in NAPP," he said.
One company, Facility Management Workshop, won venture capital funding from the Smurfit Group, as dwell as winning the Radius award for collaborative research.
Mr Murphy added that any, company which asks Forbairt to go on the programme will be visited for at least an initial assessment of suitability.
