Trading online vouchers benefit 143 businesses
Growing business online through the Government’s National Digital Strategy is the aim of the Local Enterprise Office Cavan's latest initiative.
LEO Cavan approved 143 trading online vouchers in 2020. The Enterprise Office say €341,157 has been allocated as part of the scheme funded by the Department of Environment, Climate & Communications.
The Trading Online Voucher Scheme is designed to assist small businesses with up to 10 employees to trade more online, boost sales and reach new markets. A number of Cavan businesses have already availed of the scheme aimed at making the process of trading online much easier.
The voucher scheme offers financial assistance of up to €2,500 with co-funding of 10% from the business, along with training and advice to help your business trade online. Cutting the cost of developing your online trading capacity by up to 90% can make this investment very affordable for many small businesses.
A wide variety of Cavan businesses have availed of the online trading voucher and are adapting to the changing business environment. Extending their reach into cyberspace was the motivation for the development of www.fitzhire.ie
“Boosting our online sales is the main objective,” Padraig Fitzpatrick of Fitzpatrick Tool Hire said of availing of the scheme. Located in Belturbet Business Park, having a digital presence has become very important in 2020: “There is an increasing movement toward online business even in what we do. Developing the website was a lifeline to our business during the lockdown.”
The scheme has come at a very opportune time: “Footfall suffered a lot during the restrictions,” Padraig says, “We compensated a bit from online. We availed of the vouchers, which allowed us to do a bit more work on the website. LEO were very helpful all the way through.”
The vouchers are targeted at businesses with limited or no e-commerce presence. The scheme is open to businesses with 10 or less employees and a turnover of less than €2m. Anke Morgenroth of Bear Essentials Tirnawannagh, Bawnboy, does business on two online sites; www.bearessentials.ie and www.silverbearcentre.ie
Anka has a very impressive online presence: “It is not finished yet,” she says of the websites she has promoting and facilitating her business.
The voucher scheme has allowed her adapt to challenges presented in a very difficult trading year: “The work we undertook was a response to the lockdown that came as a result of coronavirus.
“We have the shop here, but we also have the Silver Bear visitor's centre. The visitor centre is for anything to do with activities. When the lockdown came, we realised we could not facilitate groups or families for a long time. We decided to separated the site into two; one for online sales and the other for the Silver Bear Centre. That was the right move,” Anka explained.
The business owner speaks of the trepidation of investing when things got difficult: “I probably would not have gone ahead investing into something new, knowing what this year was going to bring. I encouraged a lot of people to avail of the online support as well. I feel everyone, no matter what type of business, should avail of this support.”
The LEO scheme has many applications. Irish consumers spend €850,000 an hour online, 24 hours a day, every day. While many small businesses have a web presence, less than one in four is actually trading online.
With nearly 90% of Irish consumers using the internet to research and buy products and services, not having a trading online presence is a missed opportunity.