Northern Ireland manufacturers stand to benefit significantly from the newly launched £11m Cluster Acceleration Programme, introduced recently by Economy Minister Conor Murphy. Designed by Invest Northern Ireland, this initiative will foster collaboration between small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and stakeholders, allowing them to address shared challenges and achieve common goals.

Minister Murphy emphasised that businesses engaged in clusters experience greater innovation, productivity, and resilience. The programme is set to develop clusters in priority sectors such as Advanced Manufacturing, Life and Health Sciences, ICT, and emerging areas like green technology. By pooling resources and expertise, these clusters will create highly skilled jobs and boost productivity, ensuring economic growth across the region.

The Cluster Acceleration Programme adopts a ‘Super Cluster’ model, bringing together industry, academia, government, and investors to work on projects that would be unattainable for individual companies. Steve Harper, Executive Director of International and Skills at Invest NI, highlighted the success of previous cluster initiatives, which supported over 600 businesses. Clusters like Manufacturing Engineering Growth Advancement (MEGA) and Northern Ireland Maritime & Offshore (NIMO) have thrived by sharing best practices, developing new working methods, and exploring new markets.

This programme offers a valuable opportunity for Northern Ireland manufacturers to enhance competitiveness, grow expertise, and build a robust, future-proof economy.

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