The €2bn COVID19 Credit Guarantee Scheme was launched this week to provide Irish businesses, with access to low cost loans. The Scheme is part of Government’s July Stimulus package, and offers an 80% Government guarantee to participating banks to provide low interest loans to eligible SMEs for up to six years.

• Loans range from €10,000 to €1 million for terms of up to 5.5 years. .
• Available to eligible SME and small Mid-Cap businesses, including primary producers (businesses engaged in farming and fishing), est'd in Ireland.
• Business must have experienced adverse impact of min15% turnover or profit due to COVID-19

• Chris Mee Group team raise €2000 for the Cuanlee Refuge for Abused Women & Children
• Springboard PR - Negative impact on physical and mental wellbeing of Irish workers under Covid-19 highlighted in national research
• CAPPA Launches New Website
• Cognate Health appoints Irish leaders in business and health
• Ahead of the 65^th Edition of Cork International Film Festival, Director and CEO Fiona Clark has been named Cork Person Of The Month
• New events space in Cork aims to reconnect Businesses with their audiences
• New Sales & Marketing Director at The Montenotte

• Republic of Work Lunch & Learn - Collaborate to Innovate – How Businesses can Access Irish R&D Expertise
• 50% discount on Online Fire Safety Training with The Chris Mee Group
• Cork City FC Golf Classic 2020 22^nd September

We are open for business and looking forward to helping you with your travel plans!!

Even though the past months have proven to be a challenge for anyone, we not only hope for a better tomorrow but also are doing our best to prepare it. Our efforts include working closely with our travel partners, developing new solutions and further optimising our services. We are now operating an appointment only service.

Please call us at 021 4320710 to make an appointment.

Thurs Oct 1 | 2.30pm-3.30pm | Online

Cork Chamber is delighted to partner with the Irish American Business Chamber Network in Philadelphia to present this webinar focused on the strengthening of trading links and connectivity between Cork and Pennsylvania. As the Brexit deadline creeps closer, it is imperative that Ireland identifies ways to maintain our critical trading relationships with the rest of the world and reduce our dependency on the UK.

Join us to hear from panelists Conor Mowlds, Chief Commercial Officer, Port of Cork Company, and Jeffery L. Culbertson, CPE, Chief Commercial Officer, PSA Penn Terminals, LLC, who will discuss the role of their respective port authorities in driving developments in infrastructure and connectivity, thereby supporting the economic development of their local regions, and enhancing our international trading relationships.

Dear Chamber Member,

I hope you, your families, friends and colleagues are all well.

Government's Roadmap for Resilience and Recovery is due to be published next week. Over the recent months, we have called on Government to deliver a tailored, sectoral approach to their business and economic responses to Covid-19. The challenges facing our business community are immense and the impacts of the current crisis are having wide reaching affects. While the early response packages including grants, wage subsidies, waivers were welcome, we call on Government to..

Fri 2 Oct | 11am-12pm | Online

The Sustainable Cork Programme is designed to set a vision for a more sustainable and resilient Cork, empowered by a thriving business community. Our second webinar of the series will feature Sean Kearns and Tony Reddy, Directors of Reddy Architecture + Urbanism who will discuss best principals of urbanism at this pivotal time, including topics such as City Centres, the pandemic, and the City Development plan.

Tues 22 Sep | 2.30pm-4pm | Online

We have teamed up with SHEP Earth Aware, Green Spaces for Health, Cork Healthy Cities and the Environmental Research Institute, UCC, for this informative session titled 'Connecting Nature: Bringing Life to the City' to highlight the importance of how a greener city is not only more pleasant to live in, or to visit, but how it also improves the health, wellbeing and social cohesion of citizens.

The Government has today published its Brexit Readiness Action Plan.

This call to action outlines a broad range of changes that will occur in less than four months’ time, regardless of the outcome of the ongoing EU-UK negotiations. It provides clear and concise advice on steps that need to be taken now by businesses and individuals in order to prepare for the end of the Transition Period on 31 December 2020.

Wed 14 Oct | 9:00am-1pm | 4 mornings

Enter the world of project management by acquiring the core skills of the role. Become confident in managing a complex project by learning how to integrate its conflicting facets into a manageable entity.

This course provides you with a foundation in professional project management principles. 

Wed 14 Oct | 10:00am-1pm | 8 mornings

Be able to develop and implement your own bespoke digital marketing strategy. You will gain access to a range of free and low-cost tools to assist with the development, implementation, monitoring and management of your strategy and understand the key components to an effective website and be able to optimise their site for search (SEO).

Friday September 18th

Culture Night is coming up and Cork City Libraries are asking for help to display works in the windows of vacant city properties. Their initiative for Culture Night titled 'Words on Windows' will bring vibrancy and life to the streets, helping to creating a sense of place and nurture our rich cultural heritage.

If you have a window space you are willing to make available for the project, please contact Patricia Looney, Senior Executive Librarian at Cork City Libraries <EMAIL HERE>

Following the success of the parklet on Douglas Street and as part of the ‘Reimagining Cork’ programme, Cork City Council is seeking to fund and install up to 10 more parklets across the city.

Business owners, institutions, neighbourhood organisations, and other community-based groups are eligible to apply to be a “Parklet Partner.”

Applications open from Friday September 11th.

19th - 27th September

National Bike Week is back for 2020 and Cork Sports Partnership is offering Clubs, Workplaces, Community Groups and Organisations the opportunity to get involved. 

Cork City Council & Cork County Council have secured funding from the Department of Transport, Sport and Tourism to support a limited number of cycling events during Bike Week 2020. Clubs, Groups, Communities and Schools are invited to apply for funding to organise their own FREE Bike Week event during the week-long event

Ireland will introduce ambitious new targets to tackle waste and move towards a circular economy under a new plan announced this week by the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment Eamon Ryan TD. The objectives include:

• design led circularity
• extended producer responsibility
• sustainable economic models
• an all-industries approach

Key targets under the plan are detailed below