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Elevate

About the Elevate programme

If you are a Micro-Enterprise looking to identify cross-border markets and customers to win new business you’re in the right place. There is £5k/€5.7k funding for specialist Sales and Marketing support to grow your business with the Elevate Programme. It’s a simple application process and you will benefit from bespoke advice.

Elevate support

Specifically aimed at Micro-Enterprises, Elevate has an expert panel of Sales Advisors offering specific expertise to help you to identify and capitalise on the significant cross-border sales opportunities that exist on your doorstep.

Up to £5,000/€5,750 (Including VAT) worth of consultancy time is available to you. You choose the Advisor that suits your business needs and they will work with you to develop a winning sales plan and fast track your cross-border exporting journey. It is 100% funded by InterTradeIreland and the application process is very simple.

The Elevate Support is available for:

  • Assessment of in-house sales capability and skills
  • Export Readiness assessment of the business
  • Identification of sales leads/prospects
  • Development of a cross-border sales and marketing plan
  • Advice and guidance on design of marketing materials
  • Supply Chain Management
  • Sourcing
  • Business Strategy

Am I eligible?

To take part in the Elevate programme – a business must:

  • Have less than 10 employees.
  • Be a manufacturing or tradeable service business with an annual turnover below €1.8m/£1.5m.
  • Have a satisfactory track record and a trading history in their home market (minimum of 18 months).
  • Have a sufficiently unique product that does not displace existing products in the market place.
  • Be focused on winning new cross-border sales.
  • Have not generated more than 30% of their total turnover in the target cross-border market.
  • Have the capacity (human, financial and production) to deliver the project.
  • Have not previously participated on InterTradeIreland ‘Acumen’ programme.

NOTE: Sole Traders and partnerships that satisfy the eligibility criteria are welcome to apply. Please note that small businesses involved in retail, distribution and agriculture are not eligible for assistance under this scheme.

Ineligible Sectors

Businesses involved in the following sectors are not considered eligible for Elevate funding: Wholesale/retail, distribution, tourism, hospitality, primary agriculture, personal services and professional business services.

Benefits

  • £5k/€5.7k in support
  • 100% funded
  • Simple application process
  • One to One advice

Interview - Why Elevate works for first time exporters

In this interview on “In Business” with Radio Kerry, Alison Currie sets out the benefits of the cross-border market and highlights the support that’s available – including £5k/€5.7k funding for specialist Sales and Marketing support via the Elevate initiative.

Find out how Elevate helped these businesses

Elevate testimonials

  • Wendy McCaughan
    Kan Teq - Co. Down

    Co. Down entrepreneur Wendy McCaughan is the founder of Kan Teq, which designs and produces equestrian body protection. Kan Teq was one of the first local businesses to benefit from the Elevate programme and is now reaping the rewards of expanding into new markets.

    "When running a small business you have limited resources, so to have the opportunity to avail of a consultant’s expertise is invaluable, especially when that consultant has specific knowledge of your new marketplace. I selected our consultant based on their technical experience and they helped us to enter the market in the Republic of Ireland with a structured and logical approach. Our projections in this new market for the next financial year are extremely positive."

    "With aggressive plans for new customers to bring increased revenue as well as the financial backing required to expand into new markets, I am extremely pleased that I participated in the Elevate programme. It is an ideal starting point to help small businesses fast-track their cross-border trading and increase their turnover. My business is already benefiting from the results and I see much more to come."

  • Richard Baird
    Wasp Technologies - Co. Cork

    Richard Baird, is the Sales Director at WASP Technologies Ltd a local Cork company specialising in deploying Sales Force Applications on Tablet devices to the FMGC sector.

    "The Elevate program opened doors and opportunities for us in the Northern Ireland market. The local knowledge of the local NI based Elevate consultant was a key element in creating business introductions otherwise not possible. We are now at an advanced stage of engagement with a number of NI companies who we are confident will deploy our IntelliBrand FMGC system. The Elevate program has been a valuable element in our expanding business in Northern Ireland and I would recommend the program strongly to other companies."

  • Mark Scanlon
    Source Dogg - Co. Dublin

    "Elevate was just the right programme for SourceDogg.com to begin our business entry into Northern Ireland, a brand new market for us. InterTradeIreland matched us with the perfect market expert for our business as he really understood our requirements and challenges. He very quickly introduced us into a series of high level engagements which allowed us to gather the market intelligence we needed to make secure plans for the future. Having the access and advice of someone who has 'been there, done that' was really invaluable."

  • Mark O'Loughlin
    Sanctuary Landscapes - Co. Kildare

    Kildare entrepreneur, Mark O'Loughlin, is the Managing Director of Sanctuary Landscapes Ltd (trading as Sancturarysynthetics.ie), who specialise in installing artificial lawns, and inventor of the hidbin.

    Speaking about the programme Mark said "Diversification is key in this economic climate so we were delighted to avail of the Elevate programme's assistance which yielded valuable market research and actionable information and plans. I'm glad to report, several months on, additional revenues from both our artificial grass and hidbin sales. The border is more psychological than physical and there's a whole new market just up the road!"

  • John Beckett
    Eirtight Technology - Co. Dublin

    Dublin entrepreneur, John Beckett, is the Commercial Director of Eirtight Technology, a local company specialising in cloud software development and software development outsourcing.

    "The Elevate Programme was of great benefit to Eirtight. By enabling us to engage directly with experienced personnel in our target market, we were able to quickly identify our key differentiators in the market and apply our resources in a more focused and strategic way. I would have no hesitation in recommending other companies who are seeking similar market knowledge to consider the programme."

Sales Growth on your Doorstep brochure

Caroline Sweeney profile picture

Elevate Enquiries

Caroline Sweeney will handle your enquiry. You can get in touch directly by email elevate@intertradeireland.com, by phone 028 3083 4137 (048 from Ireland) or by using the form below.
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