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This feature is the second in our ‘Spotlight on Singapore’ a series of collaborative articles providing insights into the dynamics of region and potential opportunities for Northern Ireland businesses in Singapore; a gateway to Asia.

COVID-19 has brought many challenges, but there are also opportunities and some Northern Ireland SME businesses are looking to take advantage of this.

In recent months, much of the world has had travel and business restrictions in place in the fight against COVID-19. Countries in Asia were among the first to go into lockdown, and are now amongst the first to emerge. As the restrictions ease and Asia moves to a ‘new-normal’ there are business opportunities for Northern Ireland companies to expand in the region.

The immediate global impact of COVID-19 on businesses has been huge, both financially and operationally. It has caused disruptions to global and local supply chains, including the supply of essential raw materials and energy.

In this feature we look at the activity we undertook during 2019/2020 to support business growth, future investment and job creation across Northern Ireland. This activity will drive our outcome performance in future years.

The sudden contraction of export markets, loss of supply chain and government decisions to lockdown whole countries and close all but essential businesses has sent shockwaves through economies right around the globe as COVID-19 has moved from continent to continent.

Each year we report our end of year performances figures, highlighting in particular our progress against our 4 year Business Strategy targets which were set as part of the draft Programme for Government.

In the first of a two-part feature, we look at how NI companies are taking huge steps to help the fight against COVID-19.

In the January/February 2020 edition of Business Eye, Rose Mary Stalker is clear about her short-term priorities as the new Chair at Invest Northern Ireland.

John Hood, Invest Northern Ireland’s Director of Food & Drink reflects on a challenging year for businesses and provides a flavour of how the agency will continue to support the sector in 2020.

The Graduate to Export programme for international marketing students was recently launched. The programme allows Northern Ireland companies to enhance their export capability with a graduate assisting them with a market research project. As part of the programme we will be following the stories of three of the graduates to get an insight into their experiences.

After a competitive selection process, 10 local businesses have been chosen to participate on Invest Northern Ireland’s Graduate to Export Programme commencing in October 2019.

Despite a year in which our customers faced a myriad of uncertainties including Brexit, global economic conditions and a cautious business environment, their performance can only be described as exceptional.

The Graduate to Export programme aims to help companies with their ambitious growth plans by providing financial support to employ a graduate for 18 months to take forward a market research project that targets a specific market outside Northern Ireland.

CE marking is a type of certification mark for certain types of products that declares conformity with the applicable EU health, safety and environmental protection legislation and standards. Invest NI launched its 2019 CE Marking seminar series this month.

Get seven simple tips for designing shelf worthy packaging for your business.

Invest Northern Ireland's Graduate to Export Programme aims to help companies with their ambitious growth plans, helping them expand and grow into new markets outside of Northern Ireland while developing their knowledge and expertise of overseas trade.