Speaking on behalf of the team here at Sapphire, we are excited to be hosting, alongside GBI Magazine, the EIS Association's  "Ready, Steady, Grow" Belfast (#Readysteadygrow).

The event is to be held on the 17th of October at 1.30pm at the Metropolitan Arts Centre.  

Here are three reasons why you should consider attending:

Reason 1:  A truly impressive line-up of speakers from Northern Ireland and beyond.

Just to provide you with a taster for the high calibre and uniqueness of the event, below are just some of the people and companies presenting and a brief description about what they will be discussing:

Boxing legend Barry McGuigan will be talking about his recent launch of the Boxing Advantage Fund to help develop boxing talent. Barry will discuss why he decided to structure his project as an EIS fund and his experience with the schemes to date.  

Brainwavebank Ltd is a Northern Irish brain healthcare start-up that has developed a neuroscience platform to track cognitive peformance and health easily, and recently "clinched £1 million" in their very first round of financing.  The Company's COO Siggi Saeversson will be presenting about Brainwavebank's experience with raising capital via the Enterprise Investment Schemes.  

Mark Fahy is the regional director for Northern Ireland, North of England, and Scotland of the London Stock Exchange and also heads the Small and Medium Companies division.  Mark will be discussing the Exchange’s ELITE program, which assists in developing and supporting ambitious private companies through their next stage of growth.  Partnered with Imperial College, ELITE delivers a three-part service of education, business support, mentoring and access to an ecosystem of professionals, thereby fostering growth and innovation. 

Northern Ireland's regional development agency, Invest Northern Ireland, was founded in 2002 and has since provided significant support for developing trade and attracting foreign direct investment in the region.  INI's Director of Corporate Finance and Property Solutions, William McCulla, will be presenting about the type of support being offered by the agency to ensure that companies with high growth potential are not held back because they cannot access finance.

Mark Brownridge,

Reason #2:  A  great free networking opportunity:  

Since social media was introduced and effectively took over our lives, we don't get chances to network in person.  The event is to attract a variety of individuals, such as entrepreneurs, investors, business angels, and business advisors and members from other business support organisations.   The venue for "Ready, Steady, Grow" is the Metropolitan Arts Centre in Belfast and this museum is the city's central cultural hub - here is your opportunity to steal some time out of your work day and enjoy the artwork on display! 

Reason #3:  An excellent way to pick up valuable advice and information about raising capital for your company.

There will be discussions on small business funding challenges and other obstacles to growth faced by businesses, featuring panels of industry experts. The session will address how you can assess the financing options open to your enterprise and how you can make yourself “investor ready”. Plus, learn secrets from successful investors who will share their stories and experience of "small company" investing. There will be a panel debate discussion during the later part of the afternoon, with the panel featuring experts that will tackle some difficult and frequently asked questions about the schemes.  

To find out more about "Ready, Steady, Grow" Belfast or to register please visit our website by clicking here. We hope to see you there, at what will surely be a "knock-out" event!