Grow your Business into Northern Ireland 

Interested in exporting but not sure where to start? Northern Ireland is potentially a great place to start. Why? 

• Northern Ireland is our closest 'export' market. Without the hassle of taking a boat or place, we have an international jurisdiction a simple car ride away 
• For many Irish businesses NI has been seen as a 'stepping stone' to larger markets of England, Scotland and Wales
• Northern Ireland has recently seen a growth in sales to customers which is steadily increasing year to year with sales to NI growing by over 7.5% in the last 12 months 
• Cross border trade of Goods and Services between ROI and NI has increased steadily year on year from €7.7 bn in 2020 to over €10.3bn in 2022. 
• No trade border between NI and ROI, so barrier free trading
• Ease of logistics due to ease of proximity of the market

Supports available for Businesses looking to export into Northern Ireland 

A number of excellent supports and programmes are available to assist businesses with export potential. These are delivered by InterTrade Ireland. Set up as an outcome of the Good Friday Agreement, funded by the Irish and British governments, the focus is specifically on facilitating cross border trade:NI - ROI/ROI-NI. 

InterTradeIreland helps small businesses explore new cross-border markets, develop new products, processes and services and become investor ready.  They provide practical cross-border business funding, business intelligence and meaningful contacts to SMEs across the island, North and South, looking to grow their businesses.

To date over 57,000 small businesses have been supported by InterTradeIreland to identify and develop all-island trade and innovation opportunities. InterTradeIreland helps small businesses capitalise on the extraordinary possibilities that exist right here on the island of Ireland. To date InterTrade Ireland has supported over 1,800 first time exporters. 

So, what supports or programmes are available through InterTrade Ireland? 

Sales Support through the Acumen Programme 

Acumen is Intertrade's  cross-border sales growth programme. Since 2013, over 700 businesses have been assisted across the island, to secure funding through the Programme to recruit a sales resources to identify, target and exploit new business opportunities in the ROI/NI market. 

Eligibility Criteria:- 

• Be active in manufacturing or tradable services 
• Employ less than 250 people - priority given to companies less than 100 
• Have a turnover of less than €40 million 
• Have established trading of 18-24 months 
• Have less than 30% of sales coming from NI in last year
• Have a sufficiently unique product 

What is included in Acumen programme? 

• Financial support towards full time or part time sales resource for 12 months. Financial grant value is dependent on full or part time resource 
• FREE Support available from Intertrade Ireland to advertise, recruit or fill the role
• Research into the NI Market 
• Development of in-house skills of key people in the business i.e. sales, digital marketing 

To find out more about the programme and to discuss eligibiliy reach out to Export Business Advisor, Lisa Collins  as a first step 

The Trade Hub 

The Trade Hub helps companies with trading arrangements between Ireland, Northern Ireland and GB.  It helps companies to trade more efficiently, gain knowledge and reduce administration issues around Customs, VAT, Regulation and Employment.

Support is fully funded and provided in 3-ways : 

1. to gain quick responses from an approved consultant to overcome specific Ireland-NI-GB trading challenges. (This can be up to a 2 hour Telephone/Teams call within 1 working day of application).
2. (up to 3 days) to receive tailored professional advice in areas of Customs, VAT, Regulation or Employment.
3. Easy to understand content, providing answers to trade questions and challenges.

Telephone support is the initial stage for consultancy support and has shown that most enquiries are addressed at this stage.  However, should companies require further assistance, they will be asked to complete further information via another short application form.

Please find below link to the website where you can read and listen to more information on the Trade Hub.

• https://intertradeireland.com/trade-hub

From there if you click on the box ‘Visit the Trade Hub’ you will be directed to the link below

• https://crossbordertradehub.intertradeireland.com/   

This link will take you to the Trade Hub ‘chatbot’ where companies are asked a few short eligibility questions and then onto a one page application (if the chatbot doesn't appear, you will see the "chat bubble" on the lower right of your screen, click on it). 

As you will see the programme is open to all sectors that are based on the island of Ireland with under 250 employees.

First - Time Exporters Accelerator 

Are you looking to increase export capability and cross-border sales?

InterTradeIreland’s First-Time Exporters Accelerator offers workshops, mentoring and research to help your business accelerate cross-border exports.

You’ll learn how to identify and research market segments, navigate export administration and ultimately focus on profitable sales for your business. 

Find out more here https://intertradeireland.com/sales-growth/first-time-exporters-accelerator