Invest NI to back community businesses

Invest Northern Ireland aims to develop further partnership with community groups that will encourage new business start-ups and promote an entrepreneurial culture in areas of social need, Professor Fabian Monds, Invest NI Chairman, has said.

Professor Monds was speaking at the launch of the Community Business Start-Up Programme, which is funded by the EU Special Support Programme for Peace and Reconciliation under the 'Promoting Entrepreneurship' measure and the Department of Employment and Learning.

The Professor said that the increasing level of entrepreneurship was now a priority in the Executive's Programme for Government and a Business Birth Rate Strategy to achieve this goal had been developed with Invest NI in a leading role and would be launched this month by Sir Reg Empey, Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Investment.

Prof Monds said another objective of the programme would be to ensure greater recognition of value of community enterprises as real businesses making positive contribution to local economic growth. He added: "Raising awareness of this important role of community businesses through this programme will encourage many more people to think seriously about starting a business or becoming self-employed. This process empowers individuals and groups to help drive local community development.

"The impact of this programme on local communities across Northern Ireland could be far reaching. By exposing people to enterprise and helping them gain new skills or improve existing expertise it will help to create wealth that can be used to start or support other projects to improve the quality of life."

(MB)