2006 THE MOST SUCCESSFUL YEAR EVER

“The year 2006 was by far the busiest in the thirteen year history of Dublin City Enterprise Board. Following a highly successful previous year, 2006 saw funding increase by a notable 45%, resulting in greatly increased activity at a time when the Board’s services were never more in demand.

This level of demand is well illustrated in that our mentoring service activity increased by 17% over 2005. In itself, this is a good indication of the increasing enterprise culture evident in the Capital.” These quotes are from the introduction of Dublin City Enterprise Board’s Annual Review 2006 prepared by Patrick Lynch, Chairman (photo above) and Greg Swift, CEO. “In this, we wish to acknowledge the high levels of support we received from the State through the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, the European Union, FÁS and other national and local organisations,” say Mr. Lynch and Mr. Swift. Among the chief highlights of the Board’s work in 2006 were: An ambitious programme of Management Development and Training, specifically targeted at the Board’s client target group of businesses with less than 10 employees, was launched. 800 people attended and feedback was excellent. Start Your Own Business courses, introduced on an experimental basis in 2005, proved to be so popular that the programme was greatly extended in 2006. A total of 12 courses were attended by 183 people. Schools Enterprise Programme: In total, 23 secondary schools and 1,925 pupils participated in the enterprise awards. The Dublin City Student Enterprise Awards were held on 12th. March 2006 at Croke Park. More than 3,500 enquiries were received regarding business support for start up and micro businesses. New Jobs: 137 new jobs were created as a result of Dublin City Enterprise Board aid Financial Assistance: A total of €911,907 was approved to assist 63 projects. Of the financial assistance granted, €452,750 was in refundable form. The Board supported and participated in ICT Expo Hong Kong; Shop 2006, a forum for food product manufacturers and buyers, and Dublin Fashion week. Two important research projects were carried during the year. The first of these was an analysis of our clients to establish where their needs for training lay. The second research project provided information on the effectiveness of the Mentor Programme.

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