By Daniel Hunter
Business Secretary Vince Cable is visiting Belfast to highlight the contribution of the film and production industries to the economy and discuss opportunities and barriers to business growth and entrepreneurship.
During the visit he will:
- visit Titanic Studios, a huge success story in the Northern Ireland film industry in attracting inward investment to its world class facilities. It is also the set location for television series Game of Thrones
- meet with Northern Ireland banks to discuss access to finance support for small and medium sized businesses
- take part in a roundtable discussion with business leaders and academics who provide funding and other support to early stage companies at Northern Ireland Science Park
Vince Cable will be taken on a tour of Titanic Studios, funded by Northern Ireland Screen, where he will see the world class film studio and set location for HBO television series Game of Thrones.
The Business Secretary will also meet with leading banking and business groups while in Belfast to explore opportunities for collaboration between government, the Northern Ireland Executive and the private sector.
“Northern Ireland has an impressive list of industries that can thrive here and have the potential to grow," Business Secretary Vince Cable said.
“The creative industries are among them, and Northern Ireland Screen has demonstrated through the various funding programmes it offers how they can gain significant inward investment and provide an attractive business offer for popular productions like Game of Thrones.
“These large scale international productions offer large employment opportunities. We remain committed to an environment where businesses of all sizes can succeed and barriers to growth, such as access to finance, are addressed.”
Arlene Foster MLA, Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment and Simon Hamilton MLA, Minister for Finance and Personnel will join the round table access to finance discussions where they will consider what can be done to bridge the finance gap and raise awareness of support available for small and medium sized business.
In the autumn government will launch a public campaign to celebrate GREAT British business success stories. Government wants to inspire other small businesses and point them towards the support that can help them grow. It will also launch a new strategy for how the whole of government will back them. This will set out a range of measures to continue helping budding entrepreneurs and existing businesses to succeed.
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