Minister launches £3m fund to boost Internet

E-Business is not just for big business. Small companies can benefit from website access, the Minister of State for Science and Technology, Mr Noel Treacy, said yesterday when he initiated a £3 million (€3.8 million) fund to boost Internet support.

More than 6,000 small businesses will be targeted in the new programme through direct financial incentives, said Mr Treacy. Some 35 city and county enterprise boards are to co-operate in the Fast-Track E-commerce Programme, which will be rolled out over the next 18 months, according to the Minister.

Funding of up to £3,000 may be available to individual companies under the scheme, though details may vary among the enterprise boards. Single grants of around £1,200 may be available to individual companies for website development, with up to £600 for technical assistance and up to £1,200 for other training initiatives.

Although aimed at those businesses which have not, so far, been convinced of the benefits of logging on, the campaign has its own Internet website - www.empower.ie - which was also unveiled by the Minister. However, the awareness campaign will also include "actual", rather than `virtual", brochures, and will involve seminars, advertising and promotions.

The initiative will include training assistance on a one-to-one basis in preparing "e-commerce" strategies and implementation.

In addition to grant-aiding some 6,000 small companies, at least 50,000 businesses will be informed of e-commerce issues. Some 1,000 companies will be assisted in developing Internet-based trade networks.

The Minister said he was aware from a number of recent reports that e-commerce technology was not being fully embraced by small businesses and he hoped the current initiative would address this. Financial backing for the scheme has been drawn from a Government-sponsored Information Society Fund, co-ordinated through the Department of Finance and through a dedicated e-commerce section in the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Mr Treacy said.

Speaking on behalf of the city and county enterprise boards, Mr Sean Mythen, chief executive of the Wexford County Enterprise Board, said that the initiative recognised that small business was in danger of being left behind by the new "knowledge revolution".

The city and county enterprise boards were established in October 1993 to develop indigenous enterprise potential and stimulate economic activity at local level.

The original job creation target for the boards was 8,000 posts in the first five years, but to date more than 21,000 jobs have been created in board-assisted enterprises, according to Mr Treacy.