Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council, in partnership with Mid & East Antrim Borough Council and Lisburn & Castlereagh City Council, has launched an innovative programme to help local businesses win more business tenders.

Programme Aims and Content

The FREE programme aims to support the growth of small and micro businesses, providing them with the knowledge and skill to expand in the area of procurement and tender opportunities, increasing competitiveness and helping to create new employment opportunities within the Council areas.

Participating companies can avail of:

• 1 Introductory workshop – this ½ day session will provide an insight into the public procurement process, private sector supply chains, good tender practice and how to avoid common pitfalls.
• ​1-to-1 mentoring – where participants learn practical tendering skills e.g. how to register and navigate tender portals, bid library development, tender road mapping, review of previous submissions, support with a live bid etc.
• A series of specialist workshops (various topics & dates available)

Participants will also be invited to attend online Buyer Briefing sessions.

For upcoming workshops, click here

Eligibility Criteria – Businesses must:

• Have a registered business address located within one of the participating Council areas;
• Be an SME (including social enterprises) employing less than 50 employees;
• Be actively trading for a minimum of 12 months and not receiving any similar assistance from elsewhere;
• Not be an Invest NI client (or be able to demonstrate the approval of their Invest NI Client Executive to participate on the programme); and,
• Demonstrate the ability to create jobs and are operating in markets where there are viable tender opportunities relevant to their business services in the UK and beyond.

This programme is funded through the participating Councils, Invest NI and the European Regional Development Fund under the Investment for Growth and Jobs (Northern Ireland 2014-2020) Programme (EUIGJ) Local Economic Development Measure.