Belfast offers £100k for local 5G innovations

Belfast is offering grants of between £50,000 to £100,000 to local business and industry that can offer innovative projects using 5G.

The £280,000 competition is part of the Belfast 5G Innovation Region (5GIR) programme, led by Belfast City Council’s Innovation Office, that targets 5G and digital technologies to deliver enhanced operations and solutions.

“The priority of the programme and this competition is about demonstrating the utility and commercial benefits of 5G networks in the real world for businesses and other organisations,” Mark McCann, City Innovation Manager, at Belfast City Council told Cities Today.

The grants are open to organisations of any size and the Northern Irish city is keen to explore a wide range of opportunities.

“As a city region we understand the importance of business-ready 5G as the future basis of digital connectivity for our economy,” McCann added. “Belfast places a great deal of importance on innovation as a driver for enhancing productivity.”

This competition is part of a larger programme that aims to ensure that Belfast and the wider region are best positioned to adopt and exploit 5G.

“We’re learning from competitions like this to develop a much more substantial programme of investment over the next few years,” McCann said. “We have really exciting growth clusters in areas such as med tech, cyber, film, advanced manufacturing and digital that are the key to this ambition. These sectors are all predicated 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 areas: Antrim and Newtownabbey, Ards and North Down, Belfast, Lisburn and Castlereagh, Mid and East Antrim, and Newry, Mourne and Down.

An online information session for interested applicants will take place on 28 August 2024 at 11am. The closing date for applications is 22 September 2024.

Image: Belfast City Council