Business minister Heather Humphreys (pictured) has announced grant aid totalling €1.25m to encourage online retailers to accelerate and upgrade their online presences.
The Online Retail Scheme is administered by Enterprise Ireland, and successful applicants will receive from €10,000 to €25,000 to fund research, strategy development, implementation and training in operating an online shop.
Applications are being accepted until July 31.
Applicants must be Irish-owned retail businesses that have a physical retail outlet. Applicants must already have an online presence, whether website or social media, and employ at least 20 people.
Successful applicants will be awarded funding to a maximum of 50% of the project costs, with a minimum grant of €10,000. Therefore applications which do not propose company expenditure on the project of a minimum of €20,000 will be considered ineligible.
Eligible costs include the salary of a senior internal project champion in the applicant company to work with an external consultant on the project; the fees to external consultants to develop a digital strategy and further develop and enhance the company’s transactional website or online presence; and fees for staff training required to develop and implement an online retail operation.
Further information on the scheme and details of how to apply are available here.