Derry Chamber is proud to have been represented at two key events for the economic development of the North West today. Taking a divide and conquer approach, Chamber President Andrew Fleming attended the opening of the new EY offices at Ebrington Plaza, while Chief Executive Anna Doherty M IDM attended InterTradeIreland‘s Funding Advisory Service Workshop at the Waterfoot Hotel.

The First Minister and deputy First Minister officially opened EY Northern Ireland’s new North West regional office at Ebrington Plaza in Derry/Londonderry today, as the professional services firm continues to expand in Northern Ireland in response to growing client demand and to draw on the outstanding talent available in the North West. The new location will accommodate up to 120 EY people, comprising a mix of new hires and existing EY NI staff.

Meanwhile, InterTradeIreland’s workshop, delivered by Grant Thornton Ireland explored the main funding options available to SMEs — from traditional bank finance to newer, emerging forms of funding. We heard directly from local market experts who shared insights on how to successfully navigate the fundraising process and secure the right funding for your business.

The workshop provided an overview of the current funding landscape and active funders, insight into how funders assess applications and the types of SMEs they support, practical advice on how to prepare your business for funding, and an interactive discussion session, followed by networking opportunities — including the chance to speak directly with funders.

Anna Doherty, Chief Executive, Derry Chamber said:

“Today marked a truly positive day for the economy of Derry and the North West and Derry Chamber is happy to have been represented at two important events that will help us accelerate our economy on to the next level.

“The fact that EY Northern Ireland has chosen to open a new office in Ebrington Plaza is testament to the work being done not just at the Ebrington site, but throughout the entire North West to ensure that we are attracting top quality employers to our region. The reason for this attraction is simple: both the city and the region as a whole have the talent to satisfy the demands of such large multinationals. The news that EY Northern Ireland brought forward this opening by 12 months simply underlines just how impressive the talent offering in the region has proved to be.

“As we also know that access to finance has proved an issue for SMEs across Northern Ireland and in the North West specifically, InterTradeIreland’s Funding Advisory Service Workshop was also well-timed, offering invaluable advice and insights to our SMEs on the varying ways in which they can fund their ventures. Today’s two events offer the ideal vision of what Derry Chamber wants to see for the North West: both multinationals and local SMEs being empowered to push our economy forward and deliver the North West of the future that we all want to see.”