THE SMALL business sector in the Belfast area appears resilient in the face of the overall downturn, the Bank of Ireland has found. The bank reported that in the past year almost 300 separate enterprises in the Belfast region, including Lisburn, had taken advantage of a special assistance package specifically designed for small start-up and growing businesses and it expects to exceed that figure in the coming year.

Launched in April 2008, ‘Essentials for Business’ is designed to support new and established enterprises though a mix of funding and targeted support services. In 12 months more than 1,400 businesses across Northern Ireland with more than 3,000 employees in total have taken up the package.

Mark O’Brien, Commercial Manager at Bank of Ireland, Belfast city branch, said: “Some 90 per cent of VAT-registered businesses in Northern Ireland have a turnover of less than £1 million. We recognised a year ago that businesses such as these need support which amounts not only to finance but to hands-on advice in critical areas such as accounting, employment law, website development and telecommunications. “Because small businesses are so important to creating a strong economy in Northern Ireland, we are pleased the reaction to our package of assistance has been very positive. There is no shortage of funding from Bank of Ireland for good business ideas and we are planning for increased demand for our Essentials for Business package over the next 12 months. With a figure of over 25 businesses a month in the Belfast region taking advantage of Essential for Business, it demonstrates that small business is proving resilient and in spite of the economic gloom over the past year, there has been no let-up in demand for bank services, funding and advice.”

Essentials for Business includes free current account banking for two years and unsecured or secured loans, plus the support of a number of partners who are expert in areas vital to small businesses such as employment law, website development, telecommunications, accounting software and insurance.