Fourteen events announced for Mayo's Local Enterprise Week 2026

Small businesses and budding entrepreneurs can sample 14 local events for Local Enterprise Week in Mayo this year. The event takes place nationally from March 2-6, supported by Local Enterprise Office Mayo and Enterprise Ireland. Hundreds of events take place nationally during the week-long festival, including those offered in Mayo, such as:

1. Regional “clinics” in Ballina, Westport and Claremorris, where LEO staff will meet businesses and entrepreneurs to advise on available business supports.

2. Online training for Mayo business owners thinking about succession issues – either because they want to hand the business over to a new generation, or are just dealing with routine staff turnover.

3. Online training for businesses on the new EU AI Act and what it means for small businesses in Mayo.

4. Marketing courses for Mayo based businesses to maximise their social media presence, and website impact.

5. A cybersecurity/GDPR seminar for Mayo businesses to keep abreast of the latest threats to their business, and refresh their cybersecurity skills.

6. The county final of the Student Enterprise Programme, where Mayo students and their own businesses will compete to be the best business in a number of categories. The winners of this final will go forward to represent Mayo at the National Student Enterprise Finals later this year.

7. A seminar on Intellectual Property and its uses, for those with ideas/content they wish to protect.

8. Regional and national events on Lean business processes, AI application and a national AI Summit in association with Google and EEN.

9. A full schedule of local and national events is available on LEO Mayo’s website www.localenterprise.ie/mayo 

John Magee, Head of Enterprise, Mayo County Council “Local Enterprise Week is a fantastic opportunity to take stock of where you are, see where you can grow, where you can innovate or maybe become more sustainable and see what resources are available on your doorstep. There is something for every business and those who maybe always had that ambition to start on their own, or a great idea, this is the week to see how to get started and make it happen.

Events in Mayo will look at supports for starting a business or marketing a business, or innovating. One sometimes neglected area of business planning is that of succession and handing the business over to either a manager, or even the next generation, and a 2-day course on this topic will be time well invested for many businesses in Mayo, even if a handover is still years away. With a fantastic selection of events on your doorstep, I would encourage everyone to take a look at what’s on offer in Mayo and find something to suit your needs.”

The Local Enterprise Office (part of Mayo County Council) is funded through Enterprise Ireland to support small businesses and entrepreneurs. Since its establishment in 2014 it has been the first stop for entrepreneurs and small businesses and provide a range of supports including funding, mentoring, training and sector specific expertise to help guide businesses at any stage of their development. For more information on the Local Enterprise Offices go to www.LocalEnterprise.ie/mayo.

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