The Department of Enterprise Trade and Employment (DETE) has proposed a further call for Online Retail Scheme applications, aiming to encourage the retail sector in Ireland to develop a more competitive online offer that will enable an increase in their customer base and build a more resilient business in the domestic and global marketplace both online and offline.
This is a Competitive Fund which will be administered by Enterprise Ireland on behalf of DETE with a total fund size of €9.3m.
Applications for funding are invited through a public call for submission of projects.
- Call Open date: Thursday 5th May 2022
- Call Close date: Wednesday 1st June 2022 at 12pm (noon)
Due to a high level of interest strict adherence will be given to the deadline for receipt of applications together with statutory accounts.
The purpose of this fund is to help Irish-based retailers with a pre-existing online presence to:
- respond to both domestic and international consumer demand for online shopping,
- strengthen small retailers in finding and retaining customers with their existing infrastructure,
- protect their physical operation by enabling growth through an online marketplace and new shopping avenues,
- upskill and retain existing staff or/and create new e-commerce roles.
Applicants who have been successful in the past calls will be awarded funding to finance a maximum of 50% of the eligible project costs. Applicants who will be successful first time, will be awarded funding to finance a maximum of 80% of the eligible project costs.
Typical elements involved in developing a sophisticated and transactional online presence and strategy include research, consultancy costs for strategy development, implementation and in-house training. For more information including eligibility criteria, see here.
