Drive to help cross-border entrepreneurs 27.06.07

The hurdles faced by small businesses in Donegal and Derry when doing business with each other is a "waste of valuable time". That's the view of Donegal entrepreneur, Catherine Sproule, who yesterday addressed the launch in Burt of 'Ireland North West - Making Business Happen' - a new drive to break down those barriers.
	"Having to go to the bank to physically lodge Sterling cheques into a special account, so that I can pay out a Euro cheque to a supplier from the Republic every month, is a waste of valuable time, which could be better spent trying to grow the business further,” said Catherine, of the Guava juice bar chain. “On top of that we have to cope with two different sets of health and safety regulations and two wage and taxation systems,” she adds.
Guava first opened for business in Letterkenny in 2004 and now has outlets in Derry and Belfast. The company has plans for further expansion in the wider Belfast area and must now go from sole trader to limited company status. Catherine admits it will be difficult to decide which side of the border to choose as the company's base.

The 'Making Business Happen' initiative aims to strengthen local businesses to make them more competitive and sustainable at home and internationally. It also includes a Diaspora element that aims to attract home highly skilled and experienced people who currently work elsewhere in Ireland or abroad.
The Mayor of Derry, Alderman Drew Thompson and Donegal County Mayor Enda Bonner were among those who attended the event at An Grianan Hotel. The seminar was also addressed by Ian Crowe, chief executive of the Commercial Paper Company and president of the Londonderry Chamber of Commerce. He said: ”The strength of the North West economy must be driven from within and this programme has the potential to build that strength.” The new business drive is run by the North West Economic Partnership and financed by the European Union through the Interreg IIIA Programme. If you are interested in starting or developing your own business in the North West, call Barry Rooney on 04871 352693 or Eileen Doherty on 074 9166735. If you are working away but considering a return to the North West, call Aeidín McCarter, of the Diaspora Programme, on 074 9172497.
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