Functions
The Enterprise Boards were established to "fill the gap in the support services for local enterprises" and to "develop indigenous potential and stimulate economic activity at local level primarily through the provision of financial and technical support for the development of small enterprises”.
The primary goals of each enterprise board are designed to stimulate and promote local enterprise culture and entrepreneurship and to assist new business start ups, particularly through the provision of financial assistance. It also encourages the expansion and growth of existing small businesses through a range of measures such as training and mentoring.
The Irish economy has always relied heavily on its exports and in that respect, the County & City Enterprise Boards actively support those companies with a potential export capacity. Once a company reaches its export potential, Enterprise Ireland will incubate that company going forward. Ireland also depends heavily on its indigenous small and medium enterprises, (SMEs) for internal economic growth. These companies are the primary target for CEB support.
Since 2007, a "Small Enterprise" is defined by Enterprise Ireland, the government agency responsible for the development and promotion of the indigenous business sector, as an enterprise that has fewer than 50 employees and has either an annual turnover and/or an annual Balance Sheet total not exceeding €10m. A "Medium Sized Enterprise" is defined as an enterprise that has between 50 employees and 249 employees and has either an annual turnover not exceeding €50m or an annual Balance Sheet total not exceeding €43m.
At present, innovation, research and development, and the development of sound management capabilities are seen as crucial components of business success in the current difficult economic climate. All are supported at local level by the CEBSs.
Read more about this topic: County And City Enterprise Board
Famous quotes containing the word functions:
“Empirical science is apt to cloud the sight, and, by the very knowledge of functions and processes, to bereave the student of the manly contemplation of the whole.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
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—Edward T. Hall (b. 1914)
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—Urie Bronfenbrenner (b. 1917)