August 25, 2024
Jonathan Andrews
Belfast is offering grants of between £50,000 and £100,000 to local businesses and industries that can deliver innovative projects using 5G.
The competition, with a prize fund of £280,000, is part of the Belfast 5G Innovation Region (5GIR) programme, led by Belfast City Council’s Innovation Office, and aims to harness 5G and digital technologies to deliver enhanced operations and solutions.
“The priority for this programme and competition is to demonstrate the real-world utility and commercial benefits of 5G networks for businesses and other organisations,” said Mark McCann, urban innovation manager at Belfast City Council. The city today.
The grants are open to organisations of all sizes and Northern Ireland cities are keen to explore a wide range of opportunities.
“As a city region, we understand the importance of business-ready 5G as the foundation for the digitally connected future of our economy,” McCann added. “Belfast places a huge emphasis on innovation as a driver of productivity growth.”
The competition is part of a larger programme aimed at ensuring Belfast and the surrounding area is best placed to introduce and harness 5G.
“We are learning from competitions like this and developing a more robust investment programme over the coming years,” McCann said. “We have really exciting growth clusters in sectors such as medtech, cyber, film, advanced manufacturing and digital that are key to this ambition – all of which are premised on the future widespread availability and adoption of 5G.”
The competition is open to businesses and organisations located in the Belfast Region City Deal Council area (Antrim, Newtownabbey, Ards, North Down, Belfast, Lisburn, Castlereagh, Mid Antrim, East Antrim, Newry, Mourne and Down).
An online information session for interested applicants will be held on August 28, 2024 at 11:00 a.m. The deadline for applications is September 22, 2024.
Image: Belfast City Council
