STIMULATING AND SUPPORTING NEW BUSINESS IN IRELAND

Minister Mary Coughlan Successfully Launches the Advance NW Network

By James Donlon, March 15, 2007

Mary Coughlan TD, Minister for Agriculture and Food successfully launched the ADVANCE NW Network in Ballyshannon, Co Donegal on Friday last, March 9th 2007.

ADVANCE NW was formally known as the NWCECA was established to promote and develop the interests of Community Enterprise Centres and Business Incubation Centres in the North West Region. (Sligo, Leitrim & Donegal). The numbers of job losses in the North West Region over recent years accentuates the importance of encouraging indigenous enterprise and of providing supports to the many community groups and other organisations providing enterprise space to local enterprises. Community Enterprise Centres are a proven mechanism in creating employment and an entrepreneurial culture within local communities.

Keelin Fagan Network Coordinator of Advance NW stated that “currently there are 31 Enterprise Centres in the North West, housing 350,000 sq ft of quality industrial & office space between them. There are 16 centres in Donegal, 6 in Sligo & 9 in Leitrim. These centres provide accommodation for 250 businesses which employ in excess of 850 people which does not include centres coming on stream in the coming months. It is essential to have a network assisting and promoting enterprise centres and their staff and this is how and why ADVANCE NW was developed”.

The Advance NW committee consists of: Phil Boyle (Convoy Enterprise Centre & Chairperson of Advance NW), Keelin Fagan (Advance NW), Janette Gillen (ITSBIC, Institute of Technology Sligo, Secretary of Advance NW), Eunan Cunningham (WESTBIC & Vice Chairperson of Advance NW), Liam Kiely (Sligo County Enterprise Board), Ann Finn (Enterprise Ireland) Michelle Bonner, (Forbairt Na Rossan) and Michael Bruen (Drumshanbo Enterprise Centre)

For more information on Advance NW please visit www.advancenw.com or contact Keelin Fagan on 071 91 46417.