SOHO Solo West Cork

SAREN Plots to Take Over the World…Well – Almost!!

West Cork... a special place for whales, people, business culture and so much more!

This morning in Casey’s Hotel in Baltimore the Skibbereen and Region Economic Network (SAREN) met for the second time to announce four development projects spanning Enterprise, Infrastructure, Marine and Tourism, and Energy and Maufacturing to bolster the future of the region.

Although these type of breakfast events usually culminate in people showing up late – the West Cork crew were raring to go this morning! When I arrived on time at 7.30am there was already a good gathering of people tucking in to breakfast – thanks to Casey’s for their hospitality!

Guest speaker, Michael Hanley of the West Cork Enterprise Board, told us about the support available from the Enterprise Board and other networks including SOHO Solo. He addressed the danger of downplaying the value of start up companies and the negativity of some media outlets that choose to often ignore the positive emergence of start ups in favour of depressing stories. He mentioned begrudgery towards entrepreneurs as being a thing of the past with communities now welcoming those with business acumen to contribute to the area in which they set up. He concluded by encouraging business owners to harness the value of innovative staff as they will prove to be invaluable to the future of a company if treated in the right way.

Development Groups

Leo O’ Driscoll presented on behalf of the Enterprise Group who are in the process of establishing a mentoring scheme for start up companies in the area. This is a great idea as it supports start ups and also provides a network to drive new business opportunities. Leo put the call out for mentors in such fields as accounting, marketing, web development etc. who would donate their expertise to guide entrepreneurs who choose the SAREN region as a base for their business. He also spoke of the hope of establishing a “Green Business Centre” and promoting the region as viable low cost base for larger companies.

Next up was Conor Buckley who is leading the Infrastructure Group who will aim to establish Skibbereen and the surrounding region as a UNESCO World Heritage site. As Skibbereen is noted to have been the epicentre of the Famine – the group will aim to get this recognised by UNESCO. This project will be officially launched during the Inaugural Famine Commemorative Day to be held in Skibbereen in May.

Nic Slocum of Whale Watch West Cork leads The Marine and Tourism Project which will focus on three fundamental areas – marine safety, collective marketing and establishing best practise in customer handling. Nic Slocum spoke of their hopes of creating dinghy docks for visiting yachtsmen and the setting up of water trails around the region for eco friendly transport such as kayaking.

The fourth and final project in the realm of Energy and Manufacturing will be led by Frank Wilson of Ceramicx Ireland. Frank spoke of the crippling energy costs of running a production facility and how the go ahead of a Wind Turbine for his business would not only reduce bills but be better for the environment. He also had some choice words about the planning department (who he finds impossible to deal with) – but we will leave these for another day!

The general sentiment of the morning was one of positivity with people pledging to get involved to get the projects moving. The next meeting is in Schull on July 21st where we will have updates on progress on each project and hopefully some further projects will be realised in the meantime.

It was great to witness the positivity that is out there – despite the fact that we seem to be constantly hearing only negative stories. There is work to be done and there is hope. If businesses pull together everyone will see the benefits and enjoy being a part of a more successful region with the satisfaction of having achieved it together.

If you have an idea or want more information on any of the projects you can e-mail sarenATskibbereen.ie

Tags: Networking, Regional Development, SAREN, West Cork
Posted in Home Working, Networking, Small Business, West Cork | 1 Comment »