Enterprise Ireland (EI) is set to massively promote Irish export companies with the aim of ultimately making them the "primary driver of the Irish economy" by the end of the decade.
Under the plan, export sales would reach €50bn and 275,000 people would be employed in Enterprise Ireland supported companies by the end of 2029.
The ambitious policy was unveiled as part of a new five-year strategy document "Delivering for Ireland, Leading Globally (2025-2029)" launched this week.
EI, which works with over 4,000 Irish-owned businesses, say their goals are aligned with both the Programme for Government and the White Paper on Enterprise.
In a statement on the new policy, EI said it had four elements to it: Start, Compete, Scale, and Connect.
Start
Enhance the pipeline of innovative and scalable start-ups by supporting them with their long-term, sustainable growth ambitions. The target is to support 1,000 new start-ups over the five-year period, from 2025 to 2029
Compete
Support companies to be more productive, founded on sustainability, innovation, digitalisation, operational efficiency, and strong leadership and capabilities. Key targets include a 35% reduction of CO2 emissions by 2030, a 3% annual average increase in productivity, 1,700 additional Irish-owned exporters and €2.2 billion spend on RD&I
Scale
Increase the number of world-leading Irish companies, with targets of 275,000 employed in Enterprise Ireland supported companies by the end of 2029, €50 bn in export sales and 150 large Irish exporting companies of more than 250 employees supported by Enterprise Ireland by 2029
Connect
To see an enhanced, internationally competitive, and interconnected enterprise and innovation ecosystem that fosters start-ups, drives enterprise growth and investment. Key targets include €55 billion spend within the domestic Irish economy, and the delivery of 10,000 enterprise engagements with Irish businesses through our research infrastructure and programmes
To advance these areas of focus, Enterprise Ireland will utilise six separate levers to achieve its goals; Funding Ambition, Igniting Innovation, Embracing Sustainability, Strengthening Skills and Talent, Maximising Global Opportunity, and Driving Performance.
Peter Burke, Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment, said: "I’m pleased to see Enterprise Ireland’s ambitions under this strategy include increasing the number of internationally successfully Irish owned companies of scale, diversifying our exports and increasing the productivity of our SME sector.
"These efforts will all add to the resilience of Irish businesses, allowing them to continue to succeed in an increasingly competitive global market.”
Alan Dillon, Minister of State for Small Business and Retail and Circular Economy, added: “We are making progress in key areas such as decarbonisation, digitalisation, and innovation and it is important that we support Enterprise Ireland in delivering on our ambitions for a resilient, sustainable and regionally balanced economy in the White Paper on Enterprise.”
Niamh Smyth, Minister of State for Trade Promotion, Artificial Intelligence and Digital Transformation, said she "welcomed Enterprise Ireland’s commitment to continue to provide and enhance the level of targeted support, training and advice to businesses to drive the adoption of digitalisation and deployment of AI."
Interim CEO, Enterprise Ireland, Kevin Sherry, said: "With companies supported by Enterprise Ireland now employing 234,454 people and over €34bn in exports, this gives Enterprise Ireland a strong platform to launch our strategy, with ambitious targets for the Irish enterprise base which aims to support more Irish companies to achieve greater scale through international growth.
"It is our long-term ambition that exporting Irish companies will become the primary driver of the Irish economy.”
Michael Carey, Chairman, Enterprise Ireland, said: "Despite the global economic challenges that lie ahead, we have every confidence in the resilience and agility of the Irish enterprise base who, with our support, have proven their ability to adapt, diversify and succeed, and we look forward to continuing to work closely with our client base to deliver for the benefit of the Irish economy over the next five years.”
*This article was originally published on BusinessPlus.ie.
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