A NEW business centre is offering entrepreneurs a vibrant working environment where they can share space, creativity and business ideas.
The Foundry at City East Business Centre is the first social enterprise to offer independent business owners an opportunity to do business in a space perfect for blending privacy with collaboration.
The visionary behind The Foundry is Jonathan McAlpin, Chief Executive of East Belfast Enterprise, who has seen the concept come to life with all 10 available offices allocated before being officially launched to the market. Jonathan said:
“Co-working spaces started springing up in Europe and America around 20 years ago and whilst it’s a relatively new concept for Northern Ireland, thousands of people can testify to billions of dollars being made through what is commonly known as the coworking movement.
“We want to lead the co-working revolution in Northern Ireland from The Foundry; to be known for more than just providing a
space with desks for people to rent. We will create a selfhelp enterprising community through a programme of workshops, mentoring sessions and networking events, for entrepreneurs to co-work and assist each other to develop their businesses and uncover the entrepreneurial talent, latent within east Belfast. We have designed The Foundry to acknowledge the industrial heritage of East Belfast, the historic heart of the Northern Ireland economy, through the colour scheme and industrial fit-out of the space.”
The Foundry offers 21 hot desks at a full, part time or daily rate with on and off peak memberships available. The space also provides free wifi, kitchen facilities and a private meeting room for hire. There are also 10 fully furnished offices suitable for one to two person start-up businesses.