Trading Online Voucher Scheme

Aims:

1. • assist small businesses engage in e-Commerce sales.

1. • where possible help small businesses engage in export sales on-line.

1. • The grant will match up to €2500 or 50% of the costs of the project (excluding VAT).

Reasons:

1. • Only 23% of small Irish businesses are engaged in any meaningful way in e-Commerce sales, the aims are to improve this statistic.

1. • 70% of on-line sales in Ireland are made in overseas markets.  The aim is to help Irish businesses enter the eCommerce market and offer their services on-line.

Criteria:
The business in question must:

1. • have a limited Online Trading presence
   • have less than 10 employees
   • have a turnover less than €2 million
   • be registered and trading for at least 12 months
   • be a profit oriented business.
   • be capable of attaining economic viability.
   • demonstrate a commercial market for their proposed service or product.
   • have adequate overall finance available to the project
   • have the necessary management and technical skills to make the business a success
   • have capacity for growth and new job creation
   • have potential for export, please outline in your application
   • be a full time commercial businesses
   • NOT be Enterprise Ireland clients and not receiving Enterprise Ireland funding

Ineligible Projects

1. 1. Retail outlets
   2. Professional service
   3. Consultancies
   4. businesses in a heavily populated sector – for example by obtaining this grant would put other businesses at a competitive disadvantage.
   5. Builders, Hairdressers, Cafes, Pubs, Hotels, General Printers, Construction, Trades etc.
   6. Conferences and Seminars
   7. Projects which are contrary to public policy.
   8. Duplication of support for projects which would be eligible for assistance from other State Agencies of EU funded Operational Programmes.
   9. Existing Firms which already have an established relationship with Enterprise Ireland or IDA. Please do not apply to the Enterprise Board if you have an existing application for the same project under consideration by Enterprise Ireland.
   10. Projects involving primary agricultural production.
   11. Projects with employees in excess of 10 people.
   12. Mobile assets, i.e. cars, motor vans, laptops, mobile machinery etc.
   13. Projects deemed to be capable of proceeding in any event without Board assistance ie deadweight.
   14. Projects essentially comprising importation and distribution.
   15. Own labour is not an eligible expense;