Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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291. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the details of the Acumen and Elevate programmes of InterTradeIreland and its funding advisory services; the current and capital budget allocation for the programme in each year over the 2018 to 2020 period in tabular form; the number of participants in each year in the programme; and the maximum funding permitted to a successful applicant. [46392/19]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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InterTradeIreland (ITI), offer a range of supports to help SMEs in Ireland and Northern Ireland explore new cross-border markets, develop new products, processes and services and become investor ready.

Acumen is ITI’s flagship trade programme which supports SMEs to develop cross-border business. Participant firms can access funding for either part-time or full-time sales salary support for new sales and marketing staff engaged in cross-border trade development. In 2018, over 100 SMEs were approved to participate in the programme. Of this group, 19 SMEs were supported with part-time salary support, and 97 SMEs supported with full-time salary support.

Elevate, meanwhile, is a separate programme focused on helping micro enterprises take the first steps in exporting and exploring opportunities in a new cross-border market. In 2018, 75 companies were approved for support under this initiative.

ITI also offers a Funding Advisory Service which assists SMEs by providing the knowledge and skills to secure key sources of funding to grow their business. In 2018 ITI held 12 Funding Advisory Service Workshops across the island with four in Northern Ireland and eight in Ireland. Over the course of the year, 459 firms attended these Workshops. In addition, 22 companies availed of one-to-one funding advice from ITI's delivery partner, Grant Thornton.

The tables below provide further details on the three respective programmes in terms of budget, maximum permitted funding and participation. The 2019 figures represent an estimate to include the remaining portion of this calendar year whilst the 2020 figures are projected targets.

Acumen- Maximum permitted funding £18,120

Elevate - Maximum permitted funding £5,000

Funding Advisory Service – advisory workshops, funding not applicable