A new initiative has been launched to bring together small firms with a view to empowering them to lead the local economy out of recession.

The free web-based resource — www.smallbusinesscan.com — is designed to enable small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) throughout Ireland to overcome the challenges.

The website has been created by entrepreneurs for entrepreneurs and includes a series of interactive tools and forums to enable SMEs to share information, experience and contacts.

The not for profit scheme has been in the making for 18 months, led by Irish business experts Greg Byrne, Ron Immink and Fionan Murray, with backing from Ulster Bank. In Northern Ireland, an advisory panel of four local entrepreneurs and business leaders has been established to spearhead the project.

They are former Seagate boss Michael Caulfield, now the managing director of Belfast-based medical devices company ST+D, Steve McIlwrath, who runs Newtownards-based guitar manufacturer Avalon Guitars, Karen Murray who jointly founded and runs Baxter Murray Creative Chocolates in Belfast, and Damian Cranney, the founder and managing director of digital media design firm Frank Design in Belfast.

Joint founder, Ron Immink, said that early visitors to smallbusinesscan.com are already enabling each other to benefit from new opportunities.

“One firm for example has been able to locate valuable contacts in China through a contact made on smallbusinesscan.com and another found help with a new product from an experienced entrepreneur.”

rmorton@belfasttelegraph.co.uk