Pictured at the announcement of 20 new jobs at CMS Peripherals, Kiltimagh is Frank Salmon, Founder and Group Managing Director CMS Peripherals, An Taoiseach, Enda Kenny TD, Barry Egan, Director, West Region, Enterprise Ireland and Joe Gilmore, Managing Director, Ireland West Airport Knock

Mayo Ideas Week is an annual event consisting of a series of idea generation, entrepreneurship and business events hosted by the development and enterprise support agencies in County Mayo. Mayo Ideas Week events consist of seminars and workshops to suit those already in business as well as those thinking of taking the plunge.

This year the series of events took place from the 17th to the 21st of September and Enterprise Ireland collaborated with a number of organisations supporting the week’s activities.

The week took off to a great start when An Taoiseach, Mr Enda Kenny TD, launched the new Enterprise Ireland €200,000 Competitive Feasibility Fund for the West Region. This fund, which can provide up to €25,000 per project, is aimed at boosting start ups and creating jobs and growth in the West. It is now open for applications from Entrepreneurs in counties Galway, Mayo and Roscommon, and will remain open until Wednesday the 17th of October 2012. Its particular focus is on growth-oriented businesses with the potential to move into export markets over time. Full details on the Fund are available at www.enterprise-ireland.com/cffwest.

Also during the action-packed week, An Taoiseach, Mr. Enda Kenny, T.D., officially announced the creation of 20 new jobs at CMS Peripherals as intake to their Graduate Academy. CMS Peripherals is the largest independent value added distributor of business and consumer data storage products and solutions in the UK and Ireland. The Graduate Academy fast-tracks graduates to careers in the data storage industry. "Investment in specialised training is critical for the economy. Companies like CMS have reached a level of excellence in their industry and I support their Graduate Academy to drive further employment and exports. It is initiatives like this that will contribute greatly to the economic recovery that we are all working towards." said an Taoiseach.

Mayo Ideas Week featured many attractions such as the Spirit of Entrepreneurship event which featured one-to-one mentoring, showcase of GMIT Innovation Centre client companies, talks from experienced entrepreneurs and three early stage companies pitching their business to a panel for a prize of €1,500 sponsored by AIB. Enterprise Ireland client, Alan Dowling from Visual Brand Communication (www.vbc.ie) was the overall winner.

Another highlight of the week was the MedTech IdeaGen Workshop event which was held on Tuesday evening in Castlebar. The workshop brought together over 30 professionals from across the Medical Technologies sector in counties Galway, Mayo and Roscommon. The event included a briefing from a Medical Technologies expert, as well as facilitated brainstorming and information-sharing sessions and discussions around emerging opportunities in this fast moving sector, and insights into successful commercialisation strategies. Enterprise Ireland is now following up to support participants take their ideas to the next stage of development.