Breakfast briefing will outline EU funding opportunities for start-ups and SMEs

Accessing EU funding programmes for small to medium-sized enterprises will be the focus of a free breakfast briefing in Galway later this week.

EU funding expert Helena Deane, WestBIC, will take part in a panel discussion along with two local businesspeople — Dr Greg Heaslip, Plan Domino, and Tomás Flanagan, EireComposites — who have been successful in securing significant EU funding for their organisations. Florita Dolly, PwC Galway, will outline the financial issues to consider when applying for EU funding.

The briefing — entitled European Funding opportunities for start-ups and SMEs — will take place at Galway Technology Centre (GTC) on Thursday, February 27th, from 8–9.30am. It is part of the Maximise your Growth Potential series at GTC and is being sponsored by PwC Galway.

ÉireComposites is an accredited composites manufacturing and testing facilities in Galway, Ireland and has long-term manufacturing contracts with leading aerospace OEMs and Tier 1 suppliers. They are currently supplying to Bombardier Global GX, Airbus A220 and V2500 Engine. Besides aerospace, EireComposites is involved in lightweight, high performance fibre-reinforced composite materials in the renewable energy, marine and automotive sectors.

PlanDomino is a tech start-up, based in Galway city, developing a scheduling and capacity management tool for pharmaceutical manufacturing laboratories. Their digital tool connects QC laboratories to planning, production, QA and Supply Chain operations to align the laboratory with the rest of the organisation. PlanDomino was a part of the PorterShed NDRC accelerator in 2018, a recipient of CSF funding from Enterprise Ireland, won grant aid through the H2020 SME Instrument Phase I and is currently closing out seed funding through EI HPSU and private investment.

Admission to the briefing is free of charge but it is advisable to book your place beforehand.

“Over the past year, we have really started to emphasise the value of EU funding for enterprises of all sizes, and this briefing is part of that. There are so many opportunities in Europe but it is important to learn how programmes work and how you can apply to them,” said Niamh Costello, General Manager, GTC, who will moderate the event.

“The event is an example of a high level of collaboration between various organisations such as WestBIC, PwC and GTC to provide relevant and insightful information for local businesses. Greg and Tomás both have personal knowledge of the challenges associated with sourcing EU funding, and of the benefits this funding can bring.”

Book your place here: http://bit.ly/2wdyQzz

By Liam Horan