City & County Enterprise Boards
The boards were established in October 1993 to develop indigenous potential and foster economic activity at local level. This to be achieved through the provision of a range of enterprise supports, including direct financial assistance for the development of small and micro enterprises.
Enterprise Boards are the statutory agencies for micro business development throughout Ireland. Each Board is established as a company limited by guarantee with Board members drawn from locally elected representatives, other state agencies and the social partners.

What can we do for you?
Enterprise Boards provide direct financial assistance and ongoing supports to small business through the following:

Provision of information and advise on all aspects of establishing and developing a small business, including advice on a range of financial supports available to business

• Business mentoring and counselling
• Management development assistance, in the form of training and management support
• Assistance in e-commerce development
• Marketing assistance to eligible projects
• Feasibility Study Grants
• Selective Financial Assistance (Measure 1) which may be either capital or employment
• Refundable assistance
• Preference Share Investment
• Enterprise Board Certification for BES investment
• Enterprise Board Certification for Seed Capital Scheme

Courses & Mentoring:
Waterford City Enterprise Board Ltd., provides a range of support services to both new and existing businesses in the city.

These include:

• Business Information
• Assistance in business planning
• Counselling and advisory service
• Provision of an advice and referral service to enterprises which require tailored solutions to individual difficulties
• Provision of training programmes targeted at management development for the owner/manager
• Provision of mentor programme assistance

Mentoring provides individuals or companies with temporary advisors to help identify and overcome obstacles in their development stages

• Access to a range of management development programme, which offers shared experiences, group learning and business networks as a method to improve management in the small business
  

These services to business are not confined to grant aided enterprises and can include businesses providing products or services, which the Board would not normally, grant aid.

Seed Capital Scheme:
The scheme was introduced in 1993 and extended in 1995. It provides for a refund of tax paid over five years to a person who invests and takes up employment in a new company. The company must be involved in activities such as manufacture, fish farming, certain tourist traffic undertakings, activities to be carried out in an exchange facility established in the Custom House Docks area, research and development and internationally traded services.

The activities must be certified by a relevant agency that it is a bona fide new venture.

The certification process was extended in the 1997 Finance Act to include City / County Enterprise Boards as a certifying agency.

Please seek further details from the Revenue Commissioners.

BES Investment:
Companies providing internationally traded services, which are grant aided by the Enterprise Board, are now regarded as qualifying companies for the purposes of assessing BES investment. This change was provided for in the Finances Act 2001, which amended the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997. The effective date is 6th April 2001.

The service industries that have been specified by the Ministerial Order (S1 No. 253 of 1998) under Section 3 (I) of the Industrial Development Act, 1986, are as follows:

• Software Development
• Data Processing & Electronic Commerce
• Technical & Consultancy Services
• Commercial Laboratory Services
• Administrative Centre, Co-ordination and Headquarter Services
• Research & Development Services
• Media Multimedia & Recording Services
• Entertainment & Leisure Services
• Training Services
• Publishing Services
• International Financial Services
• Healthcare Services
• Construction Related Services
• Environmental Services
• Logistics Management Services

See our Customer Charter