A new business exhibition aimed at encouraging small and medium-sized businesses to adopt smarter ways of working will take place in Dublin next month.

The National Business Expo will be held in the RDS on March 8th and 9th. The event, supported by Bank of Ireland, Grant Thornton and Vodafone Ireland, will offer advice to firms on using technology to their advantage as they introduce greater off-licences and grow business overseas.

The expo will include monitoring sessions on commerce, social media and business productivity.

“We see many companies using technology as a tool to upscale, increase their market share and introduce better customer-management solutions,” said Grant Thornton’s Patrick Burke.

“Ultimately Irish businesses that drive growth do so because they are relentlessly focusing on their customer needs.”

Angel investor Ian Lucey will be speaking to budding entrepreneurs about his experiences and the challenges facing Irish firms.