Government funding
Government funding for Lean programmes
We are an approved provider of Enterprise Ireland and IDA Ireland Lean programmes. Since 2003 we have helped Irish organisations in financial services, insurance, healthcare, government, telecoms and technology improve how they work, much of it part-funded through these programmes.
Approved provider of Enterprise Ireland and IDA Ireland Lean programmes · Lean Service Provider of the Year 2019, Lean Business Ireland
Check the agencies’ own pages. Enterprise Ireland’s supports and IDA Ireland’s website are the definitive version of these supports. This page is our summary, and rates and eligibility change from time to time. Your Enterprise Ireland Development Adviser or IDA Ireland Project Executive is the definitive source on what applies to your company.
For Irish companies
Raise your productivity and competitiveness with government co-funding
Enterprise Ireland’s strategy for 2025 to 2029 targets 3% a year productivity growth in the companies it supports, and says the need for operational excellence “has never been greater”. It backs that with funding. If you are an Irish-owned company and an Enterprise Ireland client, the State will co-fund the work to make your business leaner, more digital and more competitive. Enterprise Ireland’s supports are for its own client companies. IDA Ireland client companies have their own offer, set out separately below.
- Start. LeanStart covers 80% of the cost of a Lean coach, up to a €5,000 grant. Digital Discovery does the same for an independent digital or AI expert.
- Build capability. Build Capability co-funds Lean and continuous improvement training, and training in digital, AI and automation, with grants from €5,000 to €70,000. It replaced LeanPlus, which has closed.
- Transform. The Operational Excellence offer co-funds transformation projects built on Lean, innovation, digitalisation and sustainability. For us, sustainability means results that last, because your own people run the new way of working. Training is supported at 50% to 70%, depending on company size. Projects start at €100,000.
- Digitise. Digital Process Innovation supports 50% of the eligible cost of new digital ways of working, up to a €150,000 grant.
- Leave the paperwork to us. We help you shape the project with your Development Adviser, prepare the application, and deliver it with your team.
Lean programmes with state funding
Enterprise Ireland and IDA Ireland co-fund Lean, digital and operational excellence projects for their client companies. We help you choose the right support, prepare the application, and deliver the project.
Enterprise Ireland
Enterprise Ireland’s Strategy 2025–2029 puts productivity, operational excellence, and AI and digital adoption at the centre of its support for client companies. The supports most relevant to operational excellence are:
- Access Advice: LeanStart. An external Lean coach for 7 days, typically over 8 to 12 weeks, for Irish-owned manufacturing or internationally traded services companies with 10 or more employees, and High Potential Start-Up clients. 80% of the project cost, up to a €5,000 grant.
- Build Capability. Training for management and staff that builds capability for business transformation. The first of its four areas is operations, process improvement and technology adoption: Lean and continuous improvement, and digital, AI and automation. Grants from €5,000 to €70,000 per project, at a rate that depends on company size. Enterprise Ireland has closed LeanPlus, and Lean training is now funded through Build Capability.
- Access Advice: Digital Discovery. An independent digital or AI expert for 3 to 7 days, typically over 8 to 12 weeks, either to explore wider digital adoption or to focus on bringing AI into operations. The expert must be solution-agnostic. 80% of the project cost, up to a €5,000 grant, with the same eligibility as LeanStart.
- Digital Process Innovation. 50% of the eligible cost of a step change in capability and operational effectiveness through new digital ways of working, up to a €150,000 grant. It covers staff time, overheads, external consultancy and materials.
- Operational Excellence offer. For SMEs and large companies redesigning their business model, with project spend of at least €100,000. It is built on Lean and operational excellence training, innovation, digitalisation and sustainability, and can combine training (50% to 70%, by company size), Digital Process Innovation (up to 50% on up to €300,000 of spend) and capital investment (10% to 35%, set by the Regional Aid Map).
- Training Funding Support and Strategic Consultancy. Support for management and staff training, and for an external consultant to improve efficiency and growth.
Applications go through your Enterprise Ireland Development Adviser, who confirms eligibility, rates and terms for your company.
IDA Ireland Lean and Digitalisation Business Offer
For IDA client companies in manufacturing and services, including global business services and shared services operations, run in partnership with Enterprise Ireland. It covers LeanStart, LeanPlus and LeanTransform, from a first project to company-wide transformation, and starts with a diagnostic audit of current practice and performance. IDA’s published brochure dates from 2024, so your IDA Project Executive confirms what is available now.
Enterprise Ireland capability supports · Build Capability · Operational Excellence offer · Enterprise Ireland Strategy 2025–2029 · IDA Lean/Digitalisation Business Offer brochure (2024)
The schemes we deliver
Each support in detail
A short summary of each, with Enterprise Ireland and IDA Ireland set out separately, to keep or share: download the funding guide (PDF).
Enterprise Ireland
Enterprise Ireland
Build Capability
Lean, continuous improvement, digital and AI training. €5,000 to €70,000. Replaces LeanPlus.
Enterprise Ireland
Operational Excellence offer
Transformation projects from €100,000: training, digital and capital.
IDA Ireland
IDA Ireland
Lean and Digitalisation Business Offer
For IDA clients in manufacturing and services, including global business services: LeanStart, LeanPlus and LeanTransform.
How it works
What a funded programme looks like
1. Conversation
A short conversation, or the free Business Execution Canvas® Diagnostic, to identify where Lean will make the biggest difference.
2. Proposal
We help you develop a proposal that fits the agency’s programme requirements, which you submit with your application.
3. Delivery
Delivery with your team on your own processes, with measured results reported against the targets in the application.
Client results
- KTL, through an Enterprise Ireland Lean programme: turnover up 30% to €40 million, site revisits down 80%, lead times down 35%.
- Netwatch, through an Enterprise Ireland Lean programme: a framework for systematic improvement that its own staff now use.
- A government shared services centre: work in process down 37%, with effective capacity up 22%.
- Lean Service Provider of the Year 2019, Lean Business Ireland.
The Enterprise Ireland Lean Programme that Expertivity delivered allowed us to optimise and standardise most key business processes. It improved our competitiveness, and that enabled us to acquire additional customers and improve our profitability at the same time.
Niall Byrne, Director, KTL
Common questions
What replaced LeanPlus?
Enterprise Ireland has closed LeanPlus. Lean training is now funded through the Build Capability grant, which gives €5,000 to €70,000 per project for training that builds the capability to transform the business.
Can an IDA Ireland client use Enterprise Ireland’s supports?
Enterprise Ireland’s supports are for its own client companies. IDA Ireland clients have the IDA Lean and Digitalisation Business Offer, through their IDA Project Executive.
Which supports help with AI?
Digital Discovery funds an independent digital or AI expert, at 80% up to a €5,000 grant. Build Capability funds training in digital, AI and automation. Digital Process Innovation funds 50% of new digital ways of working, up to a €150,000 grant.
Who confirms what my company qualifies for?
Your Enterprise Ireland Development Adviser or IDA Ireland Project Executive. Rates and eligibility change from time to time.
How does Expertivity help?
A short conversation to find where Lean will make the biggest difference, a proposal that fits the agency’s requirements, then delivery with your team, with results measured against the targets in the application.
Talk to us about a Lean programme
A short conversation is usually the quickest way to see where to start.