Donegal County Enterprise Fund
Donegal County Enterprise Fund was established in 1988 with the assistance of funding from the International Fund for Ireland together with local contributions. The main objective of The Fund then was to provide loan funding to entrepreneurs and small business and assist local community projects. Over the years The Fund has developed its services and supports and in addition to providing microloans, it now also provides enterprise space, co-working space and business development supports.
LOAN FINANCE
Over the past 30 years the Donegal County Enterprise Fund has provided 488 loans with an overall value of €4,812,000 to sole traders and micro enterprises throughout Donegal from an initial capital base of €500,000. The Fund has a suite of micro loans which it currently manages. These include:
- Micro Credit Loan < €25,000
- Women’s Loan < € 6,000
- Deal Loan < € 6,000
If you are interested in applying for a loan, please contact The Donegal County Enterprise Fund Fund at (074) 916 0899. Please note that the consideration of any loan is subject to the availability of adequate fund resources at the time of evaluation.
BUSINESS CENTRE
The Donegal County Enterprise Fund Business Centre, Letterkenny was opened in October 2001 and is situated at Ballyraine at the entrance to Letterkenny Business Park. The centre measuring some 26,000 sq ft (2,415 sq m) provides high quality affordable office, co-working, technology and light industrial space to start-up businesses and social enterprises. The buildings are specifically designed to cater for the needs of new business start-ups and expansions offering flexible business units from 80 sq ft (26 sq m) and upwards. The centre also offers administration services including postage franking, photocopying, laminating etc with meeting/training room facilities also available to hire.
In 2020 The Fund was approved funding from Enterprise Ireland to provide co-working space in its Letterkenny Enterprise Centre, as well as upgrading its training room facilities.
A further Enterprise Centre opened at Church Road, Glenties, West Donegal in Summer 2018. This development provides 8,663 Sq. ft (805 Sq. m) of space comprising 6 industrial units and an administration block.
The Local Enterprise Office (LEO) Donegal has been a resident at The Enterprise Fund Business Centre, Letterkenny since 2014. The Centre is well located with great facilities including a range of meeting and training room options, excellent broadband, telecommunications, kitchen and free parking. Offering an energetic and friendly environment, the staff are extremely pleasant and help is always on hand when needed. The new CoWorking Hub will further enhance the offering, providing a warm environment to work in with excellent opportunities for collaboration and networking.
Moving into the office at the Donegal Enterprise Fund Business Centre added greatly to our local web design business, from the very first month. The availability to hire the Boardroom and the Co Working Hot Desks adds another new dimension for us, whenever we need more space.
Great location in Letterkenny, great facilities, good parking, kitchen, bathrooms including shower, good broadband options and a wonderful support team.
Locating our office in the Donegal Enterprise Fund Business Centre helped us rapidly grow our business locally and nationally. It also gave our specialist growth digital agency credibility with local businesses. As we grew, Geraldine assisted us with extra space and advice. For our clients and staff, free parking and modern facilities are a big bonus.
Geraldine Daly, Facilities Manager at Donegal County Enterprise Fund.
