Moving into growth will be the theme of the Irish International Business Network’s global annual conference being held in London this Friday.

The event aims to create a platform for domestic and international Irish-owned companies to connect and grow their business overseas.

"The world is becoming a smaller place in which to do business thanks to the constant changes and advancements in technologies and logistics," IIBN Ireland chairman Niall Fenton said.

The conference will combine practical workshops with business insight from keynote speakers including Providence Resources chief executive Tony O'Reilly Jnr, World poker tournament champion Andy Black, Hazel Hutchinson, chief executive of Aegis Corporate Strategy and John Bird, founder of the Big Issue.

National Enterprise Awards
Elsewhere, the eight finalists for this year's National Enterprise Awards have been named ahead of the ceremony which takes place in Dublin Castle this Thursday. The awards, which celebrate the outstanding achievements of micro-enterprises, will be presented by Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation Richard Bruton.

The finalists are: Solaris Botanicals; Tolerance Technologies; Chia Bia; Haven Bay Care Food Ltd/Kinsale Gourmet; Celtic Rider; EazyCity; DesignPro and Aaron Value Adding Services.