The OPTIMAL Programme

This project is part funded by Invest Northern Ireland and the European Regional Development Fund under the Investment for Growth & Jobs Northern Ireland (2014-2020) Programme.

The OPTIMAL programme aims to:

• Support the creation of new sustainable jobs in the council area
• Refer businesses to Invest NI that are capable of accessing financial support from Invest NI.
• Strengthen the local business base by assisting businesses to become more competitive in indigenous and export markets
• Promote business growth and innovation
• Provide accessible, need driven business support that is tailored to business requirements
• Engage with key business support stakeholders to develop a portfolio approach to business support in the council area, ensuring that there is no duplication of effort.

Mentors are available right now to help your business.  They are selected based on the business needs to enable them to share appropriate advice, skills and knowledge from a range of specialisms including:

• Strategic planning
• Financial management, including accessing funding
• Marketing & Sales
• HR 
• IP and Legal issues
• Research and Development
• Business Efficiency
• Ecommerce and SEO

Businesses can avail of either 2 days, 3 days or 5 days of free mentoring support

Who Can Apply?

Small to medium sized businesses with a registered business address in the Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council area.

How To Apply

Complete the online form below:

Contact Name:
Business Name:
Address:
Postcode:
Phone:
Mobile:
Email:
Website:
Trading status:	Sole Trader Partnership Limited Other
Date Business Established:
Description of main business activities, including products/services:
No. of Employees:
No. of Locations:
Business Sector:
Annual Turnover:	If not available please estimate.
Export Sales ROI £:
Export Sales GB £:
Export Sales Other £:
Specialist Assistance (Tick up to 2 options.):	Strategic Planning Financial management, including accessing funding Marketing & Sales HR IP and Legal issues Research and Development Business Efficiency Ecommerce and SEO Other
Please give specific detail on the issue within your business you wish to address and the type of support you are seeking:
Please outline all other supports which your business is currently receiving, eg: business support programmes, grant support, mentoring etc.:
I Consent:	I understand that the personal data that I submit will be required to process my request. I understand that this data will only be used for the purposes of the request and will be held in accordance with current data protection legislation.
If you consent to us contacting you for this purpose please tick to say how you would like us to contact you:	Email Post Phone
Security code:	Enter security code:

For more information:

Terms and Conditions

This project is part funded by Invest Northern Ireland and the European Regional Development Fund under the Investment for Growth & Jobs Northern Ireland (2014-2020) Programme and is available to new start-up or existing businesses with a registered business address in the Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council area.
Businesses can access either 1.5 days, 3 days or 5 days free mentoring.  Support will be dependent on the growth potential of the business and Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council will determine the number of days that will be awarded.

Mentoring is allocated on a per business basis.

All mentoring must be completed before the programme end date.
Only mentors approved by Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council will be used in the mentoring process.
Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council will not accept liability for advice given by independent advisers. 

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