Small businesses to celebrate Local Enterprise Week in Westmeath

A range of free events, training and webinars will be held for small business owners in Westmeath as part of Local Enterprise Week next month.

Westmeath small businesses and entrepreneurs will gather from Monday, March 6 to Friday, March 10 for Local Enterprise Week 2023, an initiative of the Local Enterprise Offices across the country. With thousands expected to attend the events nationwide, and the threat of rising costs for small businesses, this will be the most significant Local Enterprise Week to date.

LEO Westmeath is also running a range of free training courses for Westmeath businesses throughout the week including “Financial Forecasting for Small Business” and “How to Market Your Business Locally” and will be hosting a range of clinic days on topics such as social media, finance, marketing and HR where businesses can book a one-to-one advisory session on the topic of their choice.

There will be a range of National Spotlight Events being run online each day, starting off on the Monday with the “First Steps to Export Success” Webinar which is hosted by the LEO Westmeath. If you are considering expanding into international markets or if you are an early-stage exporter, the First Steps to Export Success webinar is for you. This webinar organised by the Local Enterprise Offices in conjunction with Enterprise Ireland and Bord Bia will heighten awareness of market opportunities and supports available, discuss challenges to internationalisation and feature case studies drawn from both the Local Enterprise Offices and Enterprise Ireland clients.

Run by the 31 Local Enterprise Offices (LEO), events are open to all, particularly entrepreneurs and those with small businesses. The events will be running online and in person and will cover a whole range of topics from financial forecasting, local marketing, exporting and more.

The week will also include some high-profile events, such as the Women in Business Event to celebrate International Women’s Day on Wednesday, March 8. This is a regional event run in conjunction with the LEOs in Longford and Leitrim and will include guest speakers from various successful businesses including Westmeath’s own Una Leonard of 2210 Patisserie fame.

The winners of the Westmeath Enterprise Awards 2023 will be announced at a ceremony on Tuesday, March 7 in the Mullingar Park Hotel and the County Final of the Students Enterprise Awards will be held in the Golden Island Shopping Centre on Thursday, March 9.

The full list of local events is available on the website here www.localenterprise.ie/westmeath

For more information on Local Enterprise Week and how to find events in each of the 31 Local Enterprise Office areas log on to localenterprise.ie/week and you can join the Local Enterprise conversation on social media with #MakingItHappen.