Economy Minister Dr Caoimhe Archibald has announced more than £13 million in Local Growth Fund awards for projects linked to Invest NI and Go Succeed.
The Department for the Economy said £13.292 million in capital funding has been allocated to support work targeting innovation, business start-up and growth, and social enterprise development.
The allocation includes £7.1 million for Invest NI programmes aimed at helping businesses with innovation and research and development. Funding will also allow Invest NI to carry out early-stage design and feasibility work for the Mandeville site in Craigavon.
A further £1.7 million has been allocated to Go Succeed towards service delivery and the provision of capital grants to help businesses grow. Go Succeed is run by local councils and provides funding to support business start-ups.
Dr Archibald said she remained concerned about the structure of the Local Growth Fund but welcomed the allocation. She said the funding would benefit businesses across the north through both Go Succeed and Invest NI.
The minister said the initiatives would stimulate local economic growth, improve productivity and develop social enterprises. She linked the investment to priorities including productivity, regional balance and more good jobs, while the department said work was continuing on several other projects to be announced later.