Artist In Residence Exhibition at City East Business Centre

September 2009 seen the launch of an art exhibition entitled ‘On The Edge’ by Bronagh Lawson, current Artist-in-Residence at the City East Business Centre. She selected the artists for the ON THE EDGE exhibition due to admiration for their creative spirit and artistic output often in the face of adversity, in a difficult economic environment. Between them they have an impressive list of experience from exhibitions, commissions, community festivals, public sculpture, photography assignments, artist talks and workshops. 
More details about On The Edge and Video highlights from the launch can be viewed here:

http://www.bronaghlawson.com/ote.asp?QS=P0017001500170101B

EBE secure significant role in delivery of new Go For It Programme

April 2009 brought fantastic news for EBE with the successful tendering as part of the Eastern Region Consortium (comprising the 11 LEAs in Inner and Outer Belfast and the 3 Local Colleges) for the new Invest NI Go For IT & Growth Programmes. This success will mean continued FREE assistance and advice to local East Belfast people for the next 2 years who are wishing to explore the option of self employment, those wishing to get a new business off the ground and existing businesses who are aiming to grow and increase their sustainability in the area. The contract means that over 300 businesses and new start entrepreneurs will be assisted in the area, leading to 100 new start-ups, helping support those who are exploring new options during the increased economic downturn.

For more information visit www.goforitni.com

New Management Team for EBE

March 2009 saw a new management team put in place for the Agency.  With the departure of Rosin McDermott as Manager for the Agency, the Board of Directors welcomed Giles Wilson as Property Development Manager and Kenny Rodgers as Programme Development Manager.  Giles and Kenny provide a new duel management structure for EBE which will continue to enable its growth as a support organisation, providing workshops, office space and business support programmes for newly established businesses and existing businesses.

Launch of CityEast Development

90 NEW JOBS AS NEW ECONOMIC FUTURE RISES IN THE EAST

The completion of an impressive new five-storey office block in the shadow of the shipyard will herald the economic rebirth of East Belfast.

The £3m CityEast development is primed to re-ignite the economy in a part of the city that was once the industrial heartland of Northern Ireland.

Known as the “Gateway to the East” the new structure stands in the shadow of iconic Sampson and Goliath and presents a golden opportunity to transform the Lower Newtownards Road into the economic hub of the city.

The 25,000 square foot building is being developed by East Belfast Enterprise and funded with EU Peace and Reconciliation monies provided through the Department of Enterprise Trade and Investment and by the International Fund for Ireland.

At the building’s “topping out” ceremony today East Belfast Enterprise Chairman, Mervyn Hempton, said: “The completion of this impressive new five-storey office block in the shadow of the shipyard will herald the economic rebirth of East Belfast.

This development will have a substantial impact as it will provide jobs for local people and office space to local businesses. This part of the city has seen some difficult years, and for some time there has been a lack of small affordable units on short term lease in East Belfast. This development presents an opportunity to transform the Lower Newtownards Road into the economic hub of the city. We believe that a positive new future is about to emerge.”

CityEast will be a catalyst for the development of the Newtownards Road. It forms part of the Newtownards Road 2012 Project - led by the East Belfast Partnership – which is progressing a number of initiatives including encouragement for Living over the Shops, and shop frontage and environmental improvement schemes. Other initiatives include a significant mixed use development at the site of the East Belfast Mission to include housing, office units and an FE College and further housing adjacent to Pitt Park as well as the development of a green space and civic square at Holywood Arches.

"East Belfast has a proud history of enterprise and industry and this new building marks a significant dawn for the hard working people of the area. It is a shining example of the excellent work carried out by East Belfast Enterprise and its determination to create a bright new future for this part of the city," East Belfast MP Peter Robinson said.

Denis Rooney, Chairman of the International Fund for Ireland said: “We are delighted to be part of today’s ‘topping out’ ceremony and to see this enterprise building so far advanced. The Fund’s aim is to create the conditions where businesses can flourish and this project, with the potential to provide up to 90 new jobs, is a perfect example of this.”

"I’d like to acknowledge the generous support of our international donors, the United States, the European Union, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

Click for the full-sized image

Launch of Learn 2 Earn

Nikki Mc Quillan, Co-Founder of the successful Streat Café Franchise www.thestreat.com, pictured with Louise Heaney, TIME Associates and Kenny Rodgers, East Belfast Enterprise at the official launch of Learn 2 Earn Programme at the Streat Café, Wellington Place.

Learn 2 Earn, part funded by the European Social Fund and The Department for Employment and Learning, is an exciting programme for individuals who are interested in setting up a business or following a career in hospitality.

The programme, which starts January 2009, offers practical training and one to one support in food preparation and service, personal development and professional business skills as well as the opportunity to see business excellence first hand.

For more information on this programme contact Louise Heaney 028 9066 7557.

Assistance from Lloyds TSB Foundation for new Womens Enterprise Project

East Belfast Enterprise was presented with a cheque for £4,000 towards their work with individuals and local businesses.

The presentation was made by Mrs Paddy Bailie, Trustee of the Lloyds TSB Foundation for Northern Ireland when she visited the organisation recently. Mrs Bailie stated “The Lloyds TSB Foundation for Northern Ireland is delighted to be able to support the work of East Belfast Enterprise. The money will be used towards the ‘Women Working for Themselves’ project, which promotes enterprise amongst unemployed women. We wish the organisation continuing success with their excellent work in the community.”

Mr Kenny Rodgers, Business Development Manager for East Belfast Enterprise added “This money is greatly appreciated and will help East Belfast Enterprise meet the costs of delivering this programme which has also been 65% supported by European funding through DEL”

Lloyds TSB Foundation for Northern Ireland awards between £1.5 and £2 million annually in support of the Northern Ireland Community to enable people, especially disadvantaged or people with special needs, to play a fuller role in their community.

Women’s-only Mentoring helps ‘apprentice tycoons’ to soar

Northern Ireland ’s top business women took a leaf out of Sir Alan Sugar’s book by mentoring up-and-coming female entrepreneurs.

During this unique two-year pilot programme, established business women shared their skills and experience in order to dramatically boost the profits of these fledgling businesses.

And it is now hoped that this incredibly successful programme will be rolled out on a bigger scale in order to help many more businesses take flight.

The Women’s 1-2-1 Mentoring Programme was delivered by East Belfast Enterprise, which paired 34 young businesses from Belfast and beyond with highly successful business leaders from a range of industries.

The direct results of the programme included increased sales, increased profitability, a larger client base, boosted confidence and a focus on growth and several participants won prestigious awards.

On Wednesday the past participants gathered for the closing ceremony of the programme, which was funded by the European Social Fund, Building Sustainable Prosperity Programme and Invest Northern Ireland.

At the event, entrepreneurs Dr Maureen Murphy from Aurion Learning and Cindy Craig from Sandcastles Nursery were joined by Invest NI representatives and Jacqueline Bar from DEL to inspire more women to build bigger businesses.

Northern Ireland has one of the worst rates of female entrepreneurship in Europe according to the GEM report. “We want to show women that they can really grow their businesses and that they don’t need to be content with micro businesses. For many the idea of taking on staff or opening new premises was daunting but with that little push they were able to focus on their goals and go for it in a much bigger way”, explained Elaine Rodgers, the programme manager from East Belfast Enterprise.

The programme is based on a mentoring initiative in Scandinavia, which has helped hundreds of women establish their businesses and found that women preferred to work with other women.

The mentoring programme took each participant through confidence building, setting goals and targeting objectives. “There is a great deal of support for people wanting to start a business, but there remains a gap offering ongoing support and assistance to help them grow. The effect of this programme was to take them past the start up phase to encourage growth”, says Elaine.

For Belfast business woman, Victoria Sinclair of Octave Music Solutions, the programme has made a massive difference to her company. “Prior to commencing the Mentor Programme through East Belfast Enterprise, although my business was making money and in fact made a profit in its first year, I felt disorganised, alone and lacking in confidence. My client base was very small, with a large proportion of it being wedding customers. I also had two barriers to my success – breaking the mould in becoming the first recruitment agency in the UK or Ireland to specialise in music jobs and coping with a shortage of variety of musical talent in Northern Ireland.

"When I was introduced to my mentor Shauna O’Neill who was from a Recruitment and Sales background, we clicked from the start. She gave me the impetus I needed to set up a database. She built up my confidence as she was always on hand to offer a “listening ear”, motivating me and bringing me out of my comfort zone. She introduced me to new financial planning methods, helped me set targets for me and the business and in general allowed me to adopt a “don’t give up” attitude.”

Sharon Polson from Invest NI’s Entrepreneurship Development Team, said: “Women can make a significant contribution to the development of a wealthier economy in Northern Ireland. It is vital that they continue to develop their commercial acumen through training and mentoring activities in order to realise their full potential.

"Invest NI aims to help existing female led businesses, as well as potential female entrepreneurs, to put their ideas into practice and grow into innovative companies that can sell their products and services outside Northern Ireland.”