Exploring Exporting Programme

About the programme

The Exploring Exporting Programme is an innovative new programme to help small businesses and social enterprises enter into new markets outside of Northern Ireland for the first time.

It aims to help participants identify new market opportunities and develop the skills required to plan and enter new geographical markets.

It includes two key stages:

Stage 1

Export workshops: Four workshops will be delivered by highly experienced coaches currently engaged in exporting. These will involve meeting recent, successful first-time exporters.
Individual business mentoring: You’ll be allocated an experienced business mentor to help you develop the key skills required for first time exporting.
Pre-export action plan: You’ll receive support to develop a pre-export action plan to help your business prepare to enter into new markets.
Signposting: You’ll be signposted to additional sources of support for your exporting activity in the coming years.

Stage 2

Individual business mentoring: Stage 2 mentoring will help you research and plan for an export market visit.
Export market visit: You’ll participate in an export market visit that will include a minimum of five pre-arranged meetings with potential new customers.
Export Action Plan: You’ll develop an export plan to help you develop new markets for the first time.

Please note, participants for stage 2 will be selected through a competitive selection process.

Who should participate?

We’ll be recruiting 10 participants to take part on the programme. To be eligible you must be:

a small business or social enterprise based in the council area with less than 20 employees, and
have no experience of trading in markets outside of Northern Ireland but wish to make exporting a key part of your growth strategy.

You must also have the time and resources to commit to this programme. We will assess this based on information provided in a brief application form.

Please note that Invest NI client companies and retail businesses may not be eligible for this programme.

How much does it cost?

This programme is free, however you will be expected to fully participate in all workshops and mentoring. For those businesses selected to participate in stage 2, subsidy support will be available for participants to undertake a market visit, subject to conditions and the following criteria:

50% of flight costs to overseas market (to a maximum of £500)
50% of accommodation costs (maximum 5 nights at £100 per night).

The programme is funded by Belfast City Council and the European Regional Development Fund under the European Sustainable Competitiveness Programme for Northern Ireland 2007-2013.