EXPORT NORTH

The Northern Ireland economy is forecasted to grow at over 20% the next three years. So now is a good time to think about expanding your business to Northern Ireland. Niamh MacSweeney reports.

Consumer confidence remains strong with both consumer spending and personal incomes set to grow over the same period. Unemployment at 4.5% is well below the UK average and employment has continued to rise. Last year total crossborder manufacturing trade increased by 5.5% to €2.6 billion. Of this a large proportion goes to small and medium sized enterprises, a figure that has the potential to be much higher.

ECONOMIC PROSPERITY IN THE NORTH

In the past Ireland and Northern Ireland have developed on separate paths and with very little commercial interaction. With the impact of the troubles, southern firms were understandably hesitant about looking north for business. Although the situation is now drastically different, with Northern Ireland enjoying peace and growing economic prosperity, the legacy of the troubles remains in the lack of information many southern firms have of the benefits of exporting to
Northern Ireland.

InterTradeIreland research shows that currently distance to the border is a big determinant of whether or not a firm will export to Northern Ireland. Companies nearer the border are more aware of market opportunities in Northern Ireland and more likely to export to Northern Ireland as a result.

Companies located further from the border simply don’t consider Northern Ireland when making expansion decisions.

PROXIMITY AND ACCESSIBILITY

Due to the small size of the domestic economy many small firms are highly dependent on export markets for growth. Northern Ireland presents a unique proposition: a very attractive high yield, low risk opportunity for SMEs who are first time exporters.

The proximity and accessibility of the Northern Ireland market, and the limited interaction to date in many areas, indicate substantial opportunities for growth in trade. These opportunities can be used by firms to “cut their teeth”, gathering key experience and strengthening the local base before more difficult markets are attempted.

Moreover these gains can be achieved at a time when joined up infrastructure across the island, such as the upgrading of the A1/N1, is reducing the economic distance between southern producers and northern consumers.

ACUMEN INITIATIVE

The Acumen programme focuses on the smaller manufacturing or tradable services companies with a turnover of less than €14 million and employing up to 75 people.

Included in the criteria for eligibility the ownership of the company must be indigenous to Ireland and it should have a successful track record in the home market in order to make it an all-island initiative. The company must show that it has less than 30% of their current business in the new market. The company must have financial, production and human resource capacity to deliver the project. In order to encourage SMEs to consider expanding across the border InterTradeIreland developed Acumen into an all-island business development programme.

Acumen helps small and medium enterprises increase crossborder sales and develop other forms of commercial co-operation across the island. Support is offered in three ways:

CONSULTANCY SUPPORT
If you are working towards planning and implementation of first-time market entry into a new cross border market on the island Acumen will support you with:

• A review and evaluation of your existing cross border business activities
• Expansion of existing cross-border trade opportunities
• Development of a cross-border joint venture or strategic alliance business arrangement.

SALES SALARY SUPPORT
Where a firm has already established a cross-border market opportunity it may require a dedicated sales person to service that market. The cost involved in putting in place this resource can outweigh the immediate market yield for a company. The Acumen team will work with the company to establish if there is a viable medium term opportunity and will provide support towards the cost of the sales person.

PROSPECTOR SUPPORT
Acumen will assist companies in finding an appropriate contractual representative in the new cross-border market.

BIG RED BOOK SHARE THEIR EXPERIENCE OF THE ACUMEN PROGRAMME

Big Red Book is a software company that specialises in solving the accountancy, payroll and HR challenges of small to medium-sized businesses. Sales Manager Morgan Browne explains that they first heard about the Acumen Programme through Enterprise Ireland when they began looking at a development plan to expand into the UK market. “We met with Acumen Programme Director Willie Maxwell who outlined how Acumen could help us to develop in Northern Ireland. The outcome that eventually emerged was that they provided us with the necessary financial support to assist with the hiring of a full time sales developer and this in turn allowed us set up an office located in Northern Ireland. Acumen gave us the power to gain access to the services and resources we needed to execute our growth plan of expansion. We were able to develop an agreed plan that could be implemented in incremental stages. Acumen also provided us with the necessary financial support to enable set-up of our Derry office,” says Browne. He explains further that the programme has been essential in building up a credible reputation in the North. “This is something that happened in phases and would not have been the success that it was without access to various resources that were available to us through Acumen.” Through Acumen the business was able to tap into a segment of the market in which they only had a very small presence. Big Red Book are specifically targeting accountancy practices in Northern Ireland and are on target to deliver €100,000 this year and they expect to grow sales to €500,000 within three years. “We couldn’t envisage how we could start to push the business into this new market but the Acumen support gave us the comfort that, with their help, we could develop into Northern Ireland.” According to Browne going forward they would like to see the customer base grow in Northern Ireland and use that success to grow the business into the UK in the long term.