Qualifying for Financial Support

If your business can show that it intends to sell outside Northern Ireland, is actively pursuing growth plans and will contribute to increasing productivity and innovation in Northern Ireland, you may be able to qualify for financial assistance.  Because our resources are limited we use them to support those businesses that can make the biggest contribution to the economy.  Currently our criteria for qualifying for financial support are:

You will need to demonstrate that now, or over the next three years, your business will have:

• total sales of over £100,000 per year; and
• sales outside Northern Ireland greater than 25 per cent of turnover, or greater than £250,000 a year.

Companies in the tradeable services sector, that is, those that can sell their services internationally, must also:

• have the potential to sustain salaries above the Northern Ireland private sector median; or
• show that they can achieve a minimum gross margin of 20 per cent.