Description
National Policy Statement On Entrepreneurship In Ireland 2014
Department of Jobs, Enterprise, and Innovation
23 Kildare St.
Dublin 2
Tel: +353 1 6312121
www.enterprise.gov.ie
www.djei.ie
N
A
T
I
O
N
A
L
P
O
L
I
C
Y
S
T
A
T
E
M
E
N
T
O
N
E
N
T
R
E
P
R
E
N
E
U
R
S
H
I
P
I
N
I
R
E
L
A
N
D
2
0
1
4
National Policy Statement on Entrepreneurship in Ireland 1
Entrepreneurship
in Ireland
National Policy Statement on
2014
National Policy Statement on Entrepreneurship in Ireland 2
Foreword by An Taoiseach, Enda Kenny TD 4
Foreword by the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Richard Bruton TD 5
Introduction – Vision for Ireland 6
Entrepreneurship Environment – Key Elements 8
Strategic Objectives 12
Entrepreneurship in Ireland 14
Measuring Irish Entrepreneurship – International Benchmarks 15
Entrepreneurship Index 16
GEDI – 2014 16
Basic characteristics – Ireland 17
National System of Entrepreneurship 18
Key Actions: Benchmarking/Measuring Entrepreneurship in Ireland 19
1. Culture, Human Capital & Education 20
1.1 Culture 20
1.2 Human Capital 20
1.3 Education 22
Key Actions: Culture, Human Capital & Education 23
2. Business Environment & Supports 24
2.1 Taxation 26
2.1.1 Startup Company Relief 26
2.1.2 Start Your Own Business 26
2.1.3 Share Based Remuneration in Private Companies 27
2.1.4 Seed Capital Scheme & Employment and Investment Incentive 27
2.1.5 Capital Gains Tax 27
2.2 Business Registration 27
2.3 Reducing Administrative Burdens 28
2.4 Supports 28
2.5 Local Enterprise Of?ces (LEOs) 30
2.6 North/South 30
Key Actions: Business Environment & Supports 32
3. Innovation 34
3.1 Innovation Supports 34
3.2 High Potential Startups 35
3.3 Innovation in Services & Business Processes 35
3.4 Science, Technology & Innovation 36
3.5 Horizon 2020 36
3.6 Intellectual Property – Contractual Issues 36
3.7 Increasing Inward Entrepreneurship 37
Key Actions: Innovation 38
Contents
National Policy Statement on Entrepreneurship in Ireland 3
4. Access to Finance 40
4.1 Access to bank lending 40
4.2 Alternative and innovative sources of ?nancing 41
4.3 Micro?nance Ireland & Credit Guarantee Scheme 41
4.4 Venture Capital 41
4.5 Access to Finance – Priorities under the APJ 42
4.6 EU Initiatives 42
Key Actions: Access to Finance 43
5. Entrepreneurial Networks & Mentoring 44
5.1 Networks 44
5.2 Evaluation of Mentoring in Ireland 45
5.3 Approach to Partnership 46
Key Actions: Entrepreneurial Networks & Mentoring 49
6. Access to Markets 50
6.1 First-time Exporters 50
6.2 Clustering Programme 51
6.3 Public Procurement 51
6.4 Private Sector support 52
6.5 Global Sourcing Project 52
6.6 Online Trading 53
6.7 North/South 53
Key Actions: Access to Markets 54
Implementation & Monitoring Progress 55
Tracking Action Delivery 55
Benchmarking/Measuring Entrepreneurship 55
Culture, Human Capital & Education 56
Business Environment & Supports 57
Innovation 58
Access to Finance 59
Entrepreneurial Networks & Mentoring 60
Access to Markets 60
APPENDICES 61
Appendix 1 - Enterprise Ireland Entrepreneurship Supports 62
Appendix 2 - Local Enterprise Of?ces Entrepreneurship Supports 65
Appendix 3 - Global Entrepreneurship Development Index Structure 67
National Policy Statement on Entrepreneurship in Ireland 4
As we move into a period of economic growth following one of the darkest periods in the
history of the State, entrepreneurship has never been more important to the country, its people
and its future.
Home-grown business ideas that display innovation and creativity will enable us to grow
jobs, challenge for market share and demonstrate our capability to adapt in an ever more
challenging global economic climate. We have to depend on our entrepreneurs to provide
innovative products, processes and knowledge based solutions that will enable us to preserve
our hard earned progress, build our international reputation, improve our living standards and
our employment creation.
This Government will continue to concentrate efforts on employment retention and creation,
and a reinvigoration of entrepreneurial spirit will play a strong role in driving this agenda.
Entrepreneurial initiatives, mind-sets and skills have been fostered in all areas of the economy,
and played no small part in building our economic recovery.
This policy statement clearly identi?es the actions we need to take to consolidate our
achievements over the last three years. It is not, however, a look backwards. It is a forward
looking document with a clear list of actions that can and will be delivered to ensure we are
seen as among the most entrepreneurial nations in the world and acknowledged as a world
class environment in which to start and grow a business.
The Statement is the fruit of an amount of collaborative work undertaken by academia,
practitioners, agencies, individual citizens and government Ministers and Departments and I
would like to publicly thank all concerned for their input in this work.
The challenge is now to deliver and I am sure that under the direction of my colleague Richard
Bruton TD Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation this segment of economic activity will
continue to make a signi?cant contribution to our wellbeing in the future.
Enda Kenny TD
Taoiseach
September 2014
Foreword by An Taoiseach,
Enda Kenny TD
National Policy Statement on Entrepreneurship in Ireland 5
To build on the recovery we have started to see recently, Ireland needs more entrepreneurs
starting high quality new businesses that will develop innovative products, conquer new markets
and create more jobs. In the Action Plan for Jobs 2014, we placed a strong emphasis on
entrepreneurship. We set out our ambition for Ireland to be among the most entrepreneurial
nations in the world and acknowledged as a world class environment in which to start and grow
a business. Growing the number of successful entrepreneurs and startups is, and will continue to
be, hugely important for Ireland’s economic development and wellbeing.
This Policy Statement is key to delivering on that ambition. Building on the work done by Sean
O’Sullivan and the Entrepreneurship Forum, this Policy Statement presents the six overarching
elements I believe are essential drivers of entrepreneurial success. Crucially, it also sets out
the approach that we are taking across Government to improve them. There has been wide
stakeholder engagement over the last two years to support the development of this Policy
Statement through public consultation, the work of the Entrepreneurship Forum and direct
contact with academics and entrepreneurs.
The Statement details some of the immediate key actions which we will take to support our
ambition and con?rms our commitment to continue to identify new approaches which will
enhance and strengthen the entrepreneurial ecosystem and ultimately create jobs.
Essentially, the objectives are centred around three distinct aims:
1. Building the pipeline - Increase the numbers of entrepreneurs, who will actively engage in
creating high quality business startups and jobs across the country;
2. Building entrepreneurial capability - Develop entrepreneurial skills among the general
population and nurture entrepreneurial thinking and talent, and;
3. Building the right conditions - Ensure survival and growth of entrepreneurial startups.
The actions set out in the Policy Statement will be delivered and overseen through the Action
Plan for Jobs process and the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation (DJEI) will monitor
progress against key performance indicators to ensure delivery.
Our challenge now is to ensure that entrepreneurs of all backgrounds and all ages are
encouraged and supported in their efforts to establish high quality businesses that are sustainable
and can compete with the best in the world both on home and export markets. That is the only
basis on which they can grow and create much needed employment. Previously I have said that
Ireland is a country with great entrepreneurs but that we just don’t have enough of them. This
Policy Statement will help ensure that as well as having great entrepreneurs Ireland becomes a
country with a great number of entrepreneurs.
Richard Bruton
Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation
September 2014
Foreword by the Minister for
Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation,
Richard Bruton TD
National Policy Statement on Entrepreneurship in Ireland 6
Entrepreneurship
1
is a key element in the health and wellbeing of any thriving economy and will
be central to Ireland’s continuing recovery. Historically, two thirds of new jobs in Ireland have been
created by companies in their ?rst ?ve years
2
. This is because new businesses drive change and
are the source of creative ideas and new technologies. They are the quickest to adapt to new
opportunities and to the shifts that disrupt markets and business models.
The purpose of this policy statement is to clearly identify the framework needed to make Ireland
one of the most entrepreneurial nations in the world, acknowledged as a world-class environment
in which to start and grow a business. Embracing and implementing the approach set out in
this statement will result in Ireland having excellent support networks at local and national level
and strong policy frameworks within which businesses can be born and ?ourish. Ireland, in turn,
will gain a global reputation as a location for smart capital and as an entrepreneurial hub. It will
become recognised as a place where good ideas can be transformed into excellent businesses
and new jobs will be created as international investors and mobile entrepreneurs seek Ireland out
as a location of choice.
Ireland can double the jobs impact of startups on our economy if we:
1. Increase the number of startups by 25%
(3,000 more startups per annum)
2. Increase the survival rate in the ?rst ?ve years
by 25% (1,800 more survivors per annum)
3. Improve the capacity of startups to grow to
scale by 25%.
This is a challenging but realistic ambition for the next ?ve years.
The Entrepreneurship Forum, established by the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation
in May 2013 to examine the ecosystem from the perspective of entrepreneurs and to make
recommendations to support entrepreneurship, has described what a strong startup community
in Ireland could look like. It emphasises that the creation of a strong start up ecosystem requires
entrepreneurial leadership at a grassroots level, with continuous activities and events designed
to engage entrepreneurs. The Entrepreneurship Forum has highlighted some excellent examples
of this. Activate Dublin, Startup Ireland, Startupweekend, Bizworld, Startups.ie, IT@Cork and
Smallbusinessadvice.ie all involve citizens and entrepreneurs working together to create an
environment in which startups can truly thrive.
1 De?ned as an individual’s creative capacity to identify an opportunity and pursue it in order to produce new value or
economic success.
2 Research published by the Central Bank of Ireland in 2013 concludes that 67% of new job creation comes from
companies within their ?rst ?ve years. Research from the Kaufmann Institute in the United States also indicates that
new and young businesses are the primary drivers of net job creation.
Introduction -
Vision for Ireland
National Policy Statement on Entrepreneurship in Ireland 7
The Entrepreneurship Forum has also urged that existing entrepreneurs and industry leaders
should help drive the entrepreneurship agenda through mentoring, networking, electronic
interaction and dissemination of information. It has argued that Ireland must leverage its existing
talent base and entrepreneurial networks if it really wants to promote and stimulate a strong
culture of high quality entrepreneurship. Private sector engagement must be the driver and
catalyst for entrepreneurial excellence, building on existing frameworks and initiatives.
In its report, however, the Entrepreneurship Forum is emphatic that the Government’s role in this
should be one of facilitation, not leadership. Government should primarily focus on removing
obstacles, implementing required solutions and maintaining a business environment that is ?t for
purpose. The Entrepreneurship Forum has noted that the Government has a key role to play in
facilitating a supportive policy framework conducive to entrepreneurial success. A wide range of
public support programmes are already available to entrepreneurs and startups in Ireland
3
. What
is needed now, the Entrepreneurship Forum has suggested, is an overall vision of how the State
can best support the startup community.
This Policy statement sets out the Government’s strategic objectives in its role as a facilitator
within the Irish entrepreneurship ecosystem, covering all the key areas that affect entrepreneurs
and startups. It also signposts the focus of public policy in the coming years. A clear programme
of speci?c actions for each year, delivered through the Government’s Action Plan for Jobs, will
ensure delivery of these strategic objectives. The Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation
(DJEI) will carefully monitor progress against key performance indicators and work with its
partners in enterprise to achieve this ambition.
3 ‘Entrepreneurship in Ireland - Strengthening the Startup Community’, 2014,http://www.djei.ie/enterprise/smes/
EntrepreneurshipForumReport2014.pdf
National Policy Statement on Entrepreneurship in Ireland 8
Entrepreneurship Environment – Key Elements
Entrepreneurship requires a range of skills and attitudes, aspirations, activities, supports and
networks. To achieve the ambition set out in this Entrepreneurship Policy Statement, we must
benchmark ourselves against the best in each area and promote improvement across the system.
This Entrepreneurship Statement sets out how this can be done. It will require working across
Government Departments. But more than this, it will involve challenging and encouraging others
to engage and become actively involved. As the Entrepreneurship Forum highlighted, Government
alone cannot develop the many varied intertwining elements that are necessary for success. Many
different parts of our society will have a role to play in this initiative.
The key elements that make up an ecosystem for entrepreneurship in Ireland are
4
:
1. Culture, human capital and education
2. Business environment and supports
3. Innovation
4. Access to ?nance
5. Entrepreneurial networks and mentoring
6. Access to markets
4 Following consideration of the various models from the OECD, World Economic Forum, Babson College, Massachusetts
and the Report of the Entrepreneurship Forum.
National Policy Statement on Entrepreneurship in Ireland 9
Ecosystem for
Entrepreneurship
6
Access to
markets
2
3
4
5
Business
environment and
supports
Innovation
Access to
finance
Entrepreneurial
networks and
mentoring
1
Culture, human
capital and
education
National Policy Statement on Entrepreneurship in Ireland 10
For the entrepreneurship environment to be truly effective, these elements must be mutually
reinforcing, forming a coherent whole and supporting entrepreneurs throughout the
entrepreneurship lifecycle. Looking at the broader picture, the ?rst in?uence on the lifecycle of an
entrepreneur is the attitude of society towards enterprise and the cultural values and emphasis
on entrepreneurship in the education system. Society’s culture and attitude directly in?uences
the individual’s capacity for creative thinking and attitude to risk. The business environment
has a similar role, affecting both the obstacles the entrepreneur may encounter and the rewards
they hope to achieve. Taxation, business regulation and the dif?culties encountered in starting
a business and in exiting, should it fail to achieve its anticipated progression, also in?uence the
decisions of both established and potential entrepreneurs.
The quality of supports available from public institutions is also a critical factor in whether potential
entrepreneurs will proceed and is an in?uence on the potential outcomes if they do. Public bodies
can provide ?nancial support in the dif?cult startup phase and offer advice and expertise to avoid
pitfalls. For many high potential entrepreneurs the accessibility of the innovation system to help
drive forward ?edgling ideas is crucial.
Often the need for access to ?nance goes well beyond the capacities of those involved in a
startup. For some entrepreneurs this may be because unemployment or debt has drained their
resources or negatively affected their credit ratings. For others, potential funding institutions may
be risk averse. That is why the provision of a broad spectrum of ?nance options, matching the
different stages of an enterprise’s development, is essential.
However, the role and in?uence of the State should not be over emphasised. The support
networks formed between entrepreneurs and between entrepreneurs and investors can be
equally important, arguably even more important, sources of essential support for startups.
Business networks, angels, mentors, entrepreneurship hubs and hotspots all provide sources
of practical experience and advice, contacts and interaction, helping entrepreneurs to avoid or
overcome dif?culties and to realise their potential.
Finally, young companies need access to markets, to clients and customers, to suppliers and
distribution channels. Identifying potential customers in both the public and private sectors at an
early stage is crucial to strengthening and building out the sales footprint. First time exporters also
need support to develop the skills and resources they need to compete in global markets and to
achieve ambitious revenue targets along the way.
National Policy Statement on Entrepreneurship in Ireland 11
Key performance indicators and actions have been identi?ed for each of the strategic
objectives and these will be reviewed and further developed as part of a process of
continuous improvement, working with all the potential participants and in?uencers in the
public and private sectors and the broader society.
Crucially, this Entrepreneurship Policy Statement is designed to translate our ambition in the
area of entrepreneurship into a clear direction for policy in future years.
Ecosystem for
Entrepreneurship
6
Access to
markets
2
3
4
5
Business
environment and
supports
Innovation
Access to
finance
Entrepreneurial
networks and
mentoring
1
Culture, human
capital and
education
Strategic Objectives
This Entrepreneurship Policy Statement sets out a number of strategic
objectives that are based on a careful evaluation of Ireland’s existing
position and an assessment of international best practice. They address
each of the elements that make up the framework for entrepreneurs and
are speci?cally designed to help them grow and ?ourish.
National Policy Statement on Entrepreneurship in Ireland 12
1 Culture, Human Capital and Education
Make entrepreneurship an integral part of our ambition as a nation. Support its development
in our education system, in our communities and in corporate behaviour.
Celebrate and reward successful entrepreneurs.
Ensure that greater numbers of people, particularly in underrepresented cohorts such as
females, youths, migrants and older persons start and run their own business.
Improve the quality and range of ICT professionals domestically to make Ireland a hub for
technology startups.
2 Business Environment and Supports
Create a business environment in Ireland where it is easy to start up and grow a new
business in terms of Company Law; Tax; Regulation; Licensing and where it is one of the
most attractive environments in Europe.
Promote best in class standards across the network of Enterprise Ireland and Local
Enterprise Of?ces which fully exploit the enterprise assets of their community and foster
new thinking in the enterprise area.
Stimulate and support high levels of quality entrepreneurial ventures with high growth,
export, wealth and job creation potential.
3 Innovation
Make Ireland a location of choice for high quality international startups.
Develop the best infrastructure to support technology transfer into commercialisation
as a new business opportunity (Knowledge Transfer Ireland; Campus Incubators;
Commercialisation Fund; Technology Centres).
Develop a support framework where innovative startups can reach their full potential.
Strategic Objectives
National Policy Statement on Entrepreneurship in Ireland 13
4 Access to Finance
Expand the range of access to ?nance instruments to match our ambition as a startup hub
so that all viable businesses have the opportunity to access suf?cient ?nance to meet their
needs.
Attract more angel and international venture capital investors and continue to develop the
domestic venture capital sector.
Ensure that the banks develop the skills and focus necessary to deliver appropriate
?nancial instruments to startups and early stage entrepreneurs.
5 Entrepreneurial Networks and Mentoring
Improve the impact of mentoring as a tool to support entrepreneurship.
Increase the levels of peer networks for mentoring, angel ?nance and problem solving that
sustain entrepreneurship.
Build world class entrepreneurial hubs and achieve greater regional spread of such hubs,
facilitating entrepreneurial leadership.
6 Access to Markets
Encourage local and national private enterprises to commit to offer opportunities for
?edgling businesses to ?nd a market.
Encourage public local and national authorities to commit to offer opportunities for
?edgling businesses to ?nd a market.
Ensure startups have clearly identi?ed customer/market segments and clearly developed
value propositions and where appropriate are export oriented in their thinking early in
their development.
National Policy Statement on Entrepreneurship in Ireland 14
CSO data indicates that in 2011 there were almost 190,000 trading enterprises in Ireland. In
the same year there were fewer than 12,000 startups. Dominated by microenterprises, over
90% of all startups were in the services, distribution and construction sectors. In 2011 startups
represented a little over 5% of the existing population in construction and distribution but in
services and ?nancial services the startup rate was just over 7%.
4
Startups 2011 Number % of Existing Enterprises in Sector
Industry 725 5.2
Construction 1,976 5.3
Distribution 2,335 5.4
Services 6,429 7.1
Finance & Tourism 372 6.8
Total 11,847 6.2
Source: CSO Business Demography 2011
Enterprise startup activity was severely dampened by the recession. According to the CSO,
enterprise births fell by a third between 2006 and 2010, from 16,700 in 2006 new enterprises to
11,200 in 2010. The attrition rate over this ?ve year period was high. Of those started in 2006,
only 51% survived ?ve years. Enterprises starting business after 2006 have experienced even
poorer survival rates at each yearly milestone. Of the 13,461 enterprises birthed in 2007, just
6,513 or 48.4% survived to 2012
5
. Not surprisingly, construction has experienced the greatest fall
off in startups and the greatest attrition rates.
Despite the economic dif?culties, enterprises that had started in the ?ve years up to 2011
employed 93,000 people by 2011. This was a substantial employment gain over a period in
which longer established enterprises had shed 400,000 jobs. Even in that very dif?cult time for
enterprise, therefore, startups were a dynamic source of opportunity and drivers of economic
revival.
The Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM), which provides useful international comparative
information on entrepreneurship, re?ects the dif?culties for entrepreneurship which Ireland has
experienced in recent years. The GEM measure of total early-stage entrepreneurial activity
6
(TEA)
peaked at 9.8% in 2005 but had fallen back to 6.1% by 2012. Over this period Ireland fell from
midway in the European TEA League table to close to bottom. There was, however, a signi?cant
recovery in 2013, when the TEA rate in Ireland rose to 9.2% – the highest level since 2005. Ireland
was ranked second across the EU-15 and ninth across the EU-28 for TEA by GEM in its 2013
report. This means that almost one in 11 of the adult population in Ireland had started or is in the
process of starting a new business within the preceding 42 months. The 2013 GEM report also
revealed a signi?cant improvement in attitudes towards entrepreneurship. It showed that 50% of
Irish adults considered entrepreneurship to be a good career choice, compared to 45% in 2012.
5 CSO, Business Demography 2012, 18 June 2014.
6 Total early stage entrepreneurial activity refers to the total rate of early stage entrepreneurial activity among the adult
population aged 18-64 years inclusive. It includes individuals in the process of starting a business and those running
new businesses less than 3 1?2 years old.
Entrepreneurship
in Ireland
National Policy Statement on Entrepreneurship in Ireland 15
As might have been expected, diminishing perceptions of opportunity, increasing fear of failure and the
dwindling number of successful role models were all characteristics of the recession years, combining to
undermine entrepreneurship activity. Early indications of recovery are characterised by very high “necessity
driven” entrepreneurship – people seek to start a business because they have reduced employment
options. However, there is also a very encouraging upturn in the number of people indicating they want to
start a business within the next three years (up over 80%). A higher percentage of migrants (5.4%) have
recently started a business compared to the non-immigrant population (3.4%). More immigrant early stage
entrepreneurs are motivated by necessity (32%), than is the case for non-immigrant entrepreneurs (17%).
Furthermore, a higher proportion of Irish early stage entrepreneurs expect to become employers (85%)
than their counterparts in Europe as a whole (72%) and those in all OECD countries (71%). Aspiring to
growth is not the same as achieving it, but it is a good place to start. One in ?ve of these entrepreneurs
expect to grow their new business beyond a micro enterprise and to employ at least 10 people.
According to GEM 2013, Irish men are 1.9 times more likely than Irish women to be an early stage
entrepreneur, with rates of early stage entrepreneurs at 12.1% for men and 6.4% for women. This has
been steadily improving and although now level with the EU- 28 average of 1.9:1 and slightly higher than
the OECD average of 1.7:1, it still shows untapped potential amongst female entrepreneurs in Ireland.
Rates of entrepreneurial activity are also in?uenced by age. Entrepreneurial activity is highest amongst
those aged 35 – 44 years (12.6%); 25 – 34 (10%) and 45 – 54 (9%). It is lowest amongst those aged 18 –
24 (7.6%) and 55 – 64 (4.6%). This data suggests there is perhaps untapped potential amongst females,
youth, seniors and migrants and that they should be encouraged to consider an entrepreneurial career.
Entrepreneurial activity amongst those aged 18 – 24 in the U.S. is at 12.3%, and is 9.2% in Israel.
Measuring Irish Entrepreneurship – International Benchmarks
Measuring a country’s entrepreneurial pro?le is not a straightforward exercise. Even at the individual
level, there is no clear consensus on whether the de?nition of entrepreneurship should include self-
employment and intrapreneurship (the creation of new corporate subsidiaries). The picture is even more
complex at a national level due to the inherent complexity of economic systems. Despite these dif?culties,
it is only by measuring entrepreneurship activity, no matter how imperfectly, that we can begin to see
where entrepreneurship is working and where it is not, and begin to understand the reasons for these
differences. That understanding can then be applied to reducing the cultural, economic and institutional
barriers that stand in the way of entrepreneurs.
Benchmarks are required to measure the impact of entrepreneurship and compare performance across
a number of variables and between comparator countries. To date there has been no acceptance of a
dominant variable or index to measure entrepreneurship internationally.
However, Ireland is performing well against a number of international benchmarks on various business
environment indicators. The IMD World Competitiveness Yearbook 2013 ranked Ireland third for availability
of skilled labour and ?rst for ?exibility and adaptability of workforce, attitudes to globalisation and
investment incentives. Ireland took ?rst place in the 2013 Forbes’ annual ranking of the Best Countries
for Business. It was the only nation ranked among the top 15% of countries in each of the 11 metrics
used by Forbes. The European Commission Innovation Union Scoreboard 2013 ranked Ireland ?rst in
Europe for the economic impact of innovation. Ireland ranked 19th overall and 13th in the regional ranking
in the 2014 Global Entrepreneurship Development Index (GEDI), another positive indicator of Ireland’s
performance on the international stage.
IRELAND GEDI Benchmark or Indicator Reference Point
Size of population (million) 4,588,252
Per capita GDP Euro (PPP, World Bank) 40,375
Rank in Doing Business Index 2013 15
Rank in Global Competitiveness Index 2014 28
Rank in Economic Freedom Index 2014 9
GEDI 2014 19
National Policy Statement on Entrepreneurship in Ireland 16
However, while Ireland is clearly performing well, more detailed analysis provides insight
into the strengths and weaknesses of the national entrepreneurship ecosystem and a better
understanding of how it is performing relative to its most direct competitor countries in Europe
and North America, using the Nordic states, the United States and Canada as exemplars.
Entrepreneurship Index
Existing entrepreneurship indices are limited in their value because they either focus primarily on
quantity or on quality. In the development of this Entrepreneurship Policy Statement considerable
attention has been given to investigating the contextual nature of entrepreneurship in order to
incorporate an element of quality. The Global Entrepreneurship & Development Index (GEDI)
is useful because it was created to provide a more complete understanding of economic
development by capturing the contextual nature of business formation, expansion, and growth.
It is based on analysis of comprehensive data sets from more than 120 countries that marshal
information about the “3As” of development: entrepreneurial attitudes, aspirations, and activity.
1. Entrepreneurial attitudes (ATT) are believed to be in?uenced by the crucial institutional
factors of market size, education, the riskiness of a country in general, the usage rate of
the internet in population, and culture.
2. The entrepreneurial activity (ACT) sub-index is principally concerned with measuring
high growth potential startup activity. This high growth potential is approached by quality
measures, including opportunity startup motives, belonging to a technology intensive
sector, the level of education as well as the uniqueness of the offered product/service. The
institutional variables used include the ease of doing business, the availability of the latest
technology, the level of human development, and the freedom of business operation.
3. The entrepreneurial aspiration (ASP) sub-index refers to the distinctive, qualitative, strategy
related nature of entrepreneurial activity. The newness of the product and of technology,
internationalization, high growth ambitions and ?nance variables are included in this sub-
index. The institutional variables measure the R&D potential, the sophistication of business
and of innovation, the level of globalization, and the availability of venture capital.
GEDI addresses many of the de?ciencies of previous measures by combining some of the
basic requirements. The index is suf?ciently complex to capture the multidimensional nature
of entrepreneurship and distinguishes between the qualitative and quantitative aspects of
entrepreneurial activity by incorporating both individual-level and institutional variables. Altogether,
the index construction integrates 31 variables, 16 from GEM and 15 from other data sources, into
14 pillars and three sub-indexes.
This index analyses such information as the amount of money available to ?nance new
businesses, the level of risk-averseness in individuals and the proportion of new businesses
started by women. The indicators are the basic building blocks of the sub-index, Entrepreneurial
Attitudes, Entrepreneurial Activity and Entrepreneurial Aspirations. The Global Entrepreneurship
Development Index, is the average of the three sub-indexes. (The 31 variables are listed in
Appendix 3 of this Statement.)
The GEDI model suggests that attitudes, activity and aspiration interact; if they are out of balance,
entrepreneurship is inhibited. The Index uses a Penalty for Bottleneck (PFB) methodology, thus
improving the score of the weakest indicator will have a greater effect on the index than improving
the score of stronger indicators.
GEDI – 2014
The 2014 GEDI identi?es America as the most enterprising large economy. The EU comes
second, with the rest of the world, including India and China, lagging well behind. There are some
unusual features of the index spots. Three of the ?ve Nordic countries are in the top ten. This
suggests that it is possible to combine enterprise with a big welfare state.
National Policy Statement on Entrepreneurship in Ireland 17
GEDI 2014
Country Rank Score Country Rank Score
United States 1 82.5 Singapore 11 67.9
Canada 2 81.7 Iceland 12 67.5
Australia 3 77.9 France 13 67.2
Sweden 4 73.7 Belgium 14 66.5
Denmark 5 72.5 Norway 15 65.1
Switzerland 6 70.9 Chile 16 65.1
Taiwan 7 69.5 Germany 17 64.6
Finland 8 69.3 Austria 18 64.0
Netherlands 9 69.0 Ireland 19 61.8
UK 10 68.6 Puerto Rico 20 61.7
Singapore 11 67.9 Israel 21 59.7
Iceland 12 67.5 Hong Kong 35 46.6
France 13 67.2 Japan 36 46.1
Belgium 14 66.5 Saudi Arabia 46 43.5
Norway 15 65.1 China 47 41.6
Chile 16 65.1 Russia 70 33.2
Germany 17 64.6 Nigeria 74 31.6
Austria 18 64.0 India 76 31.3
Ireland 19 61.8 Brazil 81 30.4
Puerto Rico 20 61.7 Bangladesh 121 13.8
Using this entrepreneurship-related data to compare countries, the index provides a global
picture of the entrepreneurship ecosystem. The index is particularly valuable in identifying local
bottlenecks. A number of the larger EU countries, such as Britain (10th), France (13th) and
Germany (17th), all perform below their potential because of a shortage of venture capital.
Developing countries often perform inconsistently. Latin America’s high scores on attitudes
towards entrepreneurship are undermined by its poor scores on the ability to capitalise on those
attitudes. China fares poorly when it comes to competition and the availability of startup skills,
while India has a shortage of venture capital. The capital-rich Gulf States score very low on
launching new products and on starting new companies.
Some countries rank lower than might have been expected. Israel, for example, is ranked 21st,
despite having one of the world’s most vibrant high-tech economies. Hong Kong comes 35th,
despite being one of the largest business centres in Asia.
Basic characteristics – Ireland
The GEDI spider diagram below compares Ireland’s pro?le to those of UK, Denmark and the
United States based on the GEDI 15 pillar values.
GEDI Pillar Comparison
Opportunity Perception
Risk Acceptance
Gender
Opportunity Startup
Start-up Skills
Risk Capital
Cultural Support
Process Innovation Product Innovation
Networking
Competition
Tech Sector
Internationalization
Human Capital
High Growth
0
Ireland
UK
Denmark
United States
1
0.8
0.4
0.2
0.6
National Policy Statement on Entrepreneurship in Ireland 18
This analysis shows Ireland is performing relatively well in overall terms, with particular strength
in such areas as human capital, internationalisation and encouraging high growth ?rms. In
the introductory chapter of this Policy Statement (Strategic Objectives) the Government has
con?rmed its focus on maintaining these strengths. The DJEI is committed to enhancing Ireland’s
performance in these areas by setting the following high level objectives. We will:
Improve the quality and range of ICT professionals domestically to make Ireland a hub for
technology startups;
Stimulate and support quality entrepreneurial ventures that have high growth, export, wealth
and job creation potential.
Ensure startups target clearly identi?ed customer/market segments, supported by clearly
developed value propositions. If appropriate, ensure they are export-oriented at an early
stage.
This analysis also highlights areas that need to be addressed, including opportunity perception
(the proportion of the population that can identify good opportunities to start a business), gender
(the proportion of female entrepreneurs), cultural support and risk acceptance or fear of failure.
As indicated the introductory chapter, actions will be taken under the following high level
objectives to address these weaknesses. We will:
Make entrepreneurship an integral part of our ambition as a nation. Support its development
in our education system, in our communities and in corporate behaviours.
Celebrate and reward successful entrepreneurs.
Ensure that greater numbers of people, particularly in underrepresented cohorts such as
females, youths and older persons, start and run their own business.
Create a business environment, in terms of company law, taxation, regulation and licensing,
which makes it is easy to start and grow a new business, making it one of the most attractive
environments for entrepreneurship in Europe.
Further in-depth analysis will be undertaken to identify precisely what factors are in?uencing both
high and low performances in the GEDI pillars. Using this data we will create an accurate picture
of the entrepreneurship ecosystem in Ireland. We will then be in a position to identify the policies
and initiatives that are delivering for entrepreneurs, the initiatives that could be doing more and the
bottlenecks where intervention would improve the entrepreneurship ecosystem the most.
National System of Entrepreneurship
A National System of Entrepreneurship is:
“the dynamic, institutionally embedded interaction between entrepreneurial attitudes, activities,
and aspirations, by individuals, which drives the allocation of resources through the creation and
operation of new ventures.
7
”
All policy initiatives that are intended to stimulate or promote entrepreneurship and innovation
are the basis of the national system for entrepreneurship in Ireland. The national system or
framework consists of a number of sub-systems and components that interact to produce system
performance. It is critical that relevant index/indicators are used to measure and inform analysis of
the system as a whole.
As emphasised by GEDI, a country’s level of development has important implications for the
approaches and policies it adopts in respect of entrepreneurship. Factor-driven economies
need to focus on entrepreneurial attitudes, to stimulate initial activity and subsequently begin
the process of enabling entrepreneurial aspirations. The focus of ef?ciency-driven economies,
however, should be squarely on promoting entrepreneurial activity. However, here too, it is
important to continue efforts to improve attitudes towards entrepreneurship and to develop
entrepreneurial aspirations.
Given that Ireland is performing strongly across international entrepreneurship benchmarks, as
measured by GEDI, Ireland’s entrepreneurial pro?le is that of an innovation-driven economy. The
innovation-driven stage is biased towards high value added industries in which entrepreneurial
activity is important. In innovation-driven economies, the key focus should be on aspirations - the
newness of the product and of technology, internationalisation, high growth ambitions and ?nance
variables are included in the aspirations sub-index.
7 Acs, Autio & Szerb 2012
National Policy Statement on Entrepreneurship in Ireland 19
GEDI
Level of Development Attitudes Activity Aspirations
Factor Driven Economy Key Focus Develop Start Enabling
Ef?ciency Driven Economy
Continuous
Improvement
Key Focus Develop
Innovation Driven Economy
Continuous
Improvement
Continuous
Improvement
Key Focus
The implied key focus for Ireland, therefore, is to identify the areas where the national
entrepreneurial performance may be held back by such bottlenecks as restricted product
innovation, process innovation and limited availability of risk capital.
For an innovation driven economy, opportunity perception potential is a prerequisite to recognising
and exploring novel business opportunities. To exploit these opportunities, it is critical to have
the proper startup skills and personal networks. Even when both opportunity recognition and
startup skills exist, attitudes such as fear of failure may prevent a potential entrepreneur from ever
starting.
High growth potential is also critical and is determined by quality measures, including opportunity
motivation for startups that belong to a technology-intensive sector, the entrepreneur’s level of
education, and the level of competition. The institutional variables include the freedom to operate
a business, the capability to absorb technology, the extent of staff training, and the dominance of
powerful business groups.
For Ireland’s national system for entrepreneurship to function effectively it will be essential to
measure and monitor entrepreneurial activity at all stages of the process.
Key Actions:
Benchmarking/Measuring
Entrepreneurship in Ireland
Conduct a comprehensive pro?le analysis of the national entrepreneurship ecosystem
in Ireland to assess current national performance against international comparators.
This assessment should take the form of an in-depth analysis to assess the individual
indicators and data for Ireland compiled across international benchmarks. This
analysis will reveal the particular conditions that are driving high or low scores across
the internationally recognised indicators for entrepreneurship and identify areas in
which policy improvements would improve the entrepreneurship ecosystem the most.
(DJEI)
Develop a consistent benchmark index for Ireland that will measure and track trends
across the national entrepreneurship system. This comprehensive analysis should
assist in identifying strengths, weaknesses and opportunities across the ecosystem
and will form the basis of an annual report to the Minister for Jobs Enterprise &
Innovation. (DJEI)
The National Competitiveness Council will support the DJEI in examining
entrepreneurship indicators as a measure of competitiveness. (NCC, DJEI)
National Policy Statement on Entrepreneurship in Ireland 20
Promoting a national spirit and culture of entrepreneurship is essential
if we are to facilitate a strong pipeline of future business startups.
Education plays an essential role in shaping attitudes and culture –
from the primary school level up. The earlier and more widespread the
exposure to entrepreneurship and innovation, the more likely it is that
students will consider becoming entrepreneurs in the future. We also
must ensure that the system supports young people and adults to
acquire the skills enterprise needs now and to prepare them to both
take up and to create the jobs and workplaces of tomorrow.
From the GEDI pillar comparison on page 17, opportunity perception,
risk acceptance and percentage of female entrepreneurs are all
areas where Ireland shows weakness compared to Denmark, the
US and UK.
1.1 Culture
Entrepreneurship is a powerful driver of economic growth and job creation. It creates new
companies and jobs, opens up new markets, and nurtures new skills and capabilities. It is
vital, therefore, that it be seen as an attractive and viable career option. We need to foster a
culture within which successful entrepreneurs are celebrated, recognised and rewarded for their
endeavours, not least because this will help legitimise the entrepreneurial career path. The role of
the education system in re-enforcing positive perceptions of entrepreneurship is essential to bring
about cultural change.
Practical and positive actions that promote the value of entrepreneurs to society and highlight the
career opportunities afforded by new business creation or acquisition are important in helping to
change the perception of entrepreneurs.
1.2 Human Capital
Certain demographic groups tend to be underrepresented within the entrepreneurial population,
especially females, young people, migrants and seniors. Increasing entrepreneurship levels
amongst underrepresented groups will require policy interventions that are transparent and
inclusive and tailored to meet their needs. Much work is being undertaken by the Government to
promote entrepreneurial role models, foster positive attitudes to risk taking, teach basic business
management and ?nancial literacy and address skills gaps.
The gap between the numbers of males and females starting their own businesses each year has
narrowed (the ratio is currently 1.9 males: 1 females)
8
but there is scope for further progress. A
gender breakdown of Enterprise Ireland high potential startups (HPSUs) in recent years shows
a far larger gap between the numbers of male-led HPSU companies to female-led companies.
Analysis undertaken in 2012 of the previous 10 years of HSPU companies in Enterprise Ireland’s
8 Global Entrepreneurship Monitor 2013
Culture,
Human
Capital and
Education
Promoting a
national spirit
and culture of
entrepreneurship
is essential if we
are to facilitate a
strong pipeline of
future business
startups
National Policy Statement on Entrepreneurship in Ireland 21
client base indicates an average of only 5% of HSPU startups were led by female entrepreneurs.
In 2012, female led enterprises accounted for just 7% of HPSU investments. Enterprise
Ireland conducted research in 2012 which showed the following challenges speci?c to female
entrepreneurship:
Fewer role models;
Less access to ?nance and lower levels of risk taking;
Low self-con?dence;
Limited female networking opportunities; and
Lack of technical expertise.
It is essential that potential female entrepreneurs are made aware of the signi?cant range of support
programmes that have been put in place by the various enterprise agencies to address these
challenges and to encourage and inspire an increase in female-led businesses. Targeted actions
have shown positive change. In 2013, 57% of participants attending core training programmes in
Local Enterprise Of?ces (LEOs) were female. In 2013, Enterprise Ireland invested in 103 HPSUs and
41 of these companies were female-led projects, up from 16 in 2012. The focus now must be to
help these young companies to realise their full potential to achieve signi?cant scale and become
major international businesses in markets across the globe.
The Entrepreneurship Forum noted the need to address the entrepreneurial needs of the signi?cant
number of unemployed people in Ireland, many of whom are young. Few business development
support schemes in the past have speci?cally targeted youths. This issue is now being addressed
with new initiatives. As part of the Action Plan for Jobs, the Local Enterprise Of?ces launched a
competition in 2014 to identify Ireland’s Best Young Entrepreneur. Open to people under 30 years
of age, the competition has a total prize fund of €2 million available to reward young entrepreneurs.
Winners at county level will be eligible for an investment in their businesses of up to €25,000, while
winners at national level can receive additional investments of up to €50,000 each. Mentoring,
marketing and other supports will also be available to participating businesses at various stages of
the competition.
The youth cohort is a vast resource that is signi?cantly underused. It is important that support is
targeted at groups with the greatest potential, in particular those unemployed youths who already
possess professional skills and competences that could be transferred through business coaching
and mentorship to self-employed businesses.
Gaeltacht areas are some of the most remote in Ireland, creating particular challenges for enterprise
stimulation and job creation. While generally positive in tone, a recent IBEC Economic Update (28
July 2014) showed a drop of between 2% and 4% in youth population in the BMW regions (vis-à-
vis the national average), which comprises large tracts of Gaeltacht areas in Donegal, Mayo and
Galway. Policy initiatives should seek to address this trend amongst 20 – 34 year olds by improving
the entrepreneurial ecosystem of the west to make it more attractive to young entrepreneurs.
Graduate entrepreneurship is also important. A new targeted programme to encourage
entrepreneurship among graduates was launched by Enterprise Ireland in May 2014. The main
purpose of the Graduate Competitive Start Fund is to provide up to 15 graduates with the critical
early stage funding to enable them to reach key commercial and technical objectives that will in turn
ensure delivery of their product or service and help them reach key funding milestones.
Action has also been taken by Enterprise Ireland to roll out an enhanced Student Enterprise Awards
initiative targeting a greater number of students from the third level sector and increasing the quality
of applications.
Early-stage entrepreneurship is higher among immigrants (11%) than among the non-immigrant
population (8.8%). It is important that policies to encourage entrepreneurship in Ireland take full
account of the entrepreneurship potential of immigrants. In particular, support measures and policy
initiatives should help attract to Ireland talented entrepreneurs intending to create global companies.
With the median age of the population in Ireland expected to rise signi?cantly in coming decades,
older people are a potentially valuable resource for entrepreneurship. This cohort has experience
and knowledge and it is essential that support programmes harness this resource. The national
system of entrepreneurship must engage seniors in both business creation and in supporting new
and existing entrepreneurs. This will maximise the wealth of experience they possess that can be
lost on retirement and ensure effective knowledge transfer.
Initiatives such as ‘Senior Enterprise’ encourage motivated older people to serve as voluntary
mentors, potential buyers of or investors in businesses, or as temporary managers to assist
startups or businesses in transition.
National Policy Statement on Entrepreneurship in Ireland 22
1.3 Education
The Department of Education and Skills supports enterprise in schools through the development
of a basic understanding of scienti?c principles and methods and of business. It also encourages
active and collaborative learning, the development of ICT skills in the revised primary curriculum
and good arts education, all of which foster creativity, innovation, risk-taking and other key
elements in entrepreneurial thinking and action.
Skills underpinning entrepreneurship are also central to the new Framework for Junior Cycle and
there are many examples of good work being undertaken in many schools at transition year in
mini-company formation and other projects designed to foster entrepreneurship.
The education and training system will continue to play a critical role in developing Ireland’s
enterprise and innovation infrastructure. It is currently undergoing an unprecedented level of
structural reform. Ensuring that the system supports young people and adults in the acquisition
of skills that are needed in the workplace is a key objective of this reform process. There is
a particular emphasis, too, on the development of higher-order thinking skills, the ability to
observe, collate and evaluate evidence, to question, summarise, analyse and interpret and the
development of problem solving skills.
All of the above skills, allied with the attainment of competence in a second modern language,
form an important basis for lifelong learning and for creating a culture of enterprise. These
education initiatives need to be further developed over the coming years. Good practice models
will be mainstreamed and successes recognised. Audits and peer reviews can help embed
stronger support for entrepreneurship.
In a number of European countries (eg. Denmark, Estonia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Sweden,
Norway, Wales and the Flemish part of Belgium) speci?c strategies have been introduced to
promote entrepreneurship education. The EU Commissions Entrepreneurship Education at
School in Europe report in 2012 noted that there is no speci?c national strategy for Ireland in
entrepreneurship education in general education, although there are ongoing initiatives.
Encouraging and promoting an enterprise culture among the student population is an important
area of activity for the Local Enterprise Of?ces. Over 20,000 students a year now participate in
the various LEO supported programmes implemented in the education sector at both primary and
secondary level including:
Student Enterprise Awards - Second Level
Exploring Enterprise - Second Level
Bi Gnothach Enterprise Programme - Primary Level
A strategy for the Further Education and Training sector has been developed by SOLAS and
includes education for entrepreneurship skills. The Higher Education Authority (HEA) is developing
an enterprise engagement strategy, within which entrepreneurial education will be an important
part. This strategy will set out performance indicators and measures to benchmark entrepreneurial
activity in Irish higher education. A range of modules in commercialisation are now being offered
across Higher Education Institutes (HEls) at undergraduate and postgraduate levels, while
structured PhDs have commercialisation, innovation and entrepreneurship embedded into
programme provision.
Enterprise needs to play a more central role in education to help HEIs provide an environment
supportive of entrepreneurship. Some models currently in use can be developed further. For
example, Accelerated Campus Entrepreneurship (ACE) has supported eight HEIs embed
entrepreneurship within their curriculums, and develop an extensive range of programmes to
promote entrepreneurship education. An Enterprise and Entrepreneurial Learning Module has
been adopted by 17 different higher education institutions and in June 2014 ACE rebranded
itself as CEEN (Campus Entrepreneurship Enterprise Network), marking its transition to a national
network. CEEN is available to all HEIs interested in developing entrepreneurship education
9
.
The evolution of this programme will be vital in developing future entrepreneurship education
in Ireland.
The Department of Education and Skills is currently considering how best to promote
entrepreneurship in schools. As an initial initiative, the Department hosted a conference in
September 2014.
9http://www.ceen.ie
National Policy Statement on Entrepreneurship in Ireland 23
Key Actions:
Culture, Human Capital & Education
Make entrepreneurship an integral part of our ambition as a nation
Develop guidance for schools to enhance enterprise in education. (DES)
Work with education stakeholders across the education system to identify best practice and to
mainstream successful programmes wherever feasible. (DES)
Examine the Entrepreneurship in the Schools activity in each LEO area and develop strategies to
increase participation and impact. (LEOs, DJEI)
Develop a programme engaging entrepreneurs in exposing students to the excitement and opportunity
of entrepreneurship, starting with a pilot across LEOS. (EI, LEOs, DES, ÚnaG)
Map relevant entrepreneurship activities in higher education institutions as part of the overall strategy
for higher education engagement with enterprise and embed entrepreneurship support within the HEI
System Performance Framework. (DES)
Develop an enterprise engagement strategy for higher education to include entrepreneurial education
as an important part of the national framework for enterprise engagement. (HEA)
Set out performance indicators and measures to benchmark entrepreneurial activity in Irish higher
education. (DES, HEA)
Develop an Entrepreneurial PhD programme with a view to training more scientists in SFI supported
research teams to launch their own businesses. (SFI, Irish Research Council, with relevant stakeholders)
Celebrate and reward successful entrepreneurs
Develop existing entrepreneurship award schemes to ensure speci?c categories of untapped potential are
promoted and to promote emerging entrepreneurship networks, clusters and accelerators. (EI, LEOs)
Work with other award giving initiatives to increase public awareness of entrepreneurship successes.
(DJEI, EI)
Develop new measures within the Gaeltacht to recognise local entrepreneurs, building on Gradam Gnó na
Gaeltachta (Gaeltacht Business Award). (ÚnaG)
Ensure that more people have an equal opportunity to start and run their own business
Work with the Department of Social Protection to promote the Back to Work Enterprise Allowance, and
support these startups with appropriate interventions e.g. mentoring, micro-loans. (LEOs, INTREO)
Develop dedicated calls under LEO, Údaras na Gaeltachta and EI programmes to target
underrepresented cohorts. (EI, LEOs, ÚnaG)
Evaluate the Ireland’s Best Young Entrepreneur Fund with a view to building on the success of the 2014
scheme and increasing the number of youth entrepreneurs accessing support systems. (LEOs, EI, ÚnaG)
Ensure that entrepreneurship is recognised as a career option in the roll out of the new apprenticeships
system. (DES)
Promote female entrepreneurship through identi?cation and promotion of female role models, targeted
events and awards, support for female entrepreneur networks and promotion of a dedicated area on
corporate websites. (LEOs, EI, ÚnaG)
Improve the quality and range of ICT skills domestically to make Ireland a hub for technology
startups
Deliver the ambitious plan to increase the availability of ICT skills from Irish Education Institutes. (DES)
Increase the attractiveness of STEM subjects to a larger cohort of Leaving Certi?cate students. (DES)
Develop a web portal to attract international talent with in-demand skills to Ireland. (EI, IDA, D/Social
Protection, D/Foreign Affairs, Irish Software Association, ICT Ireland)
Develop Junior Cycle short courses in Digital Media Literacy and Coding. (NCCA)
Facilitate the issuing of up to 2,000 employment permits per year to experienced ICT professionals with
skills in high demand. (DJEI)
National Policy Statement on Entrepreneurship in Ireland 24
Well-functioning,
appropriate and
stable framework
conditions,
incentives and
supports form the
basis of a good
entrepreneurship
ecosystem.
Business
Environment
& Supports
2
There is a range of framework conditions and policies that can
affect both ?rst time entrepreneurs and serial entrepreneurs. These
include tax rates and incentives, education and training, regulation,
legislation, the climate for R&D, immigration, trade, infrastructure
and Government funded enterprise supports. Well-functioning,
appropriate and stable framework conditions, incentives and
supports form the basis of a good entrepreneurship ecosystem.
Public authorities regulate in the public interest to achieve a variety
of goals. They try to ensure a fair and competitive marketplace,
to protect health, to promote safety and to stimulate innovation.
Regulation is a tool for delivering policies and meeting citizens’
expectations. However, it is essential that entrepreneurs are not
inhibited or discouraged by red tape and unnecessary bureaucracy.
The high attrition rate among new companies highlights the importance of ensuring that the
framework conditions and targeted actions support the sustainable growth and long term survival
of high quality businesses. Ongoing focused work will be required in such policy areas as access
to ?nance, tax, reward for risk, administrative and regulatory burdens, exporting, advisory &
counselling services and education.
In designing policies, laws and regulations, the Government and its agents must adopt the best
approaches possible, optimising opportunities for economic and social progress and minimising
potential negative effects. They must also listen carefully to the views of people affected by these
instruments.
The Commission for the Economic Development of Rural Areas (CEDRA) report, Energising
Ireland’s Rural Economy, published in April 2014, identi?ed that the recent downturn in economic
activity has had a greater detrimental impact on rural areas than on urban ones. Since 2008
unemployment and emigration levels disimproved by 192% and 27% respectively in the
countryside, compared to 114% and between 15% and 17% in urban areas. Equally signi?cant,
rural areas are not experiencing the same level of economic rebound as their urban counterparts.
This is of major national signi?cance as rural areas account for 57% of Ireland’s total population.
An increase in entrepreneurship in rural areas is essential to rural economic development and
wellbeing. The development of Local Enterprise Development Plans will identify new initiatives
and opportunities to support this agenda. It is also essential that rural areas have the capacity to
bene?t from the mechanisms proposed within this Policy Statement. The poor level of internet/
broadband access and capacity in many rural areas is a handicap to their strategic development.
Irish arts & culture has had signi?cant achievements on the international stage and represents
an important area of opportunity for entrepreneurial led growth. There are also signi?cant
entrepreneurial opportunities in the heritage sector, particularly in more peripheral areas.
Opportunities range from traditional heritage tourism products to new opportunities in such
areas as adventure tourism, outdoor sport & recreation, ecological and wildlife tourism. Agri-food
entrepreneurship can also be built on a strong commitment to sustainability and protection of
natural assets. These are all areas offering signi?cant growth potential.
National Policy Statement on Entrepreneurship in Ireland 25
Food tourism is developing fresh dimensions as a new generation of craft brewing and distilling
entrepreneurs is developing products with an emphasis on quality, provenance and innovation
and also investing ancillary businesses such as visitor centres and food and drink trails.
Investments in distilling range from €5-10 million to hundreds of million euro in the case of
existing players. Four new distilleries are in operation and 20 more are planned. At present some
33 microbreweries are in operation; a further 17 are in development and by end 2014 some 21
counties are expected to have a craft brewery. Internationally the market for Irish Whiskey is one
of double digit growth and craft beers are increasingly associated with their individual story and
associated good food match. The development of the Wild Atlantic Way and other themed trails
is an opportunity for the growth of small food and drink business clusters, which generally have
a greater multiplier effect than single businesses. The potential for artisan food and tourism to
create value and employment has been noted in the CEDRA report.
Tourism continues to be one of Ireland’s most important economic sectors. Entrepreneurship
within this sector has signi?cant potential to play a further role in Ireland’s economic renewal.
A broad range of business sectors draw part of their revenue stream from tourists. These sectors
include transport, retail, pubs and restaurants, accommodation, entertainment venues, visitor
attractions, tour guides and parts of the education sector. Research by Fáilte Ireland indicates that
up to 200,000 jobs are supported by the tourism sector. The Department of Transport, Tourism &
Sport and Fáilte Ireland will continue to work to identify and exploit opportunities for convergence
between tourism and other areas of enterprise and entrepreneurship. The provision of support by
LEO’s and Local Action Groups to startup and developing tourism enterprises will be aligned with
the Local Authorities tourism objectives and plans for their areas.
Ireland has a good reputation as a place where it is easy to start a business.
Some of the well-recognised strengths are:
Availability of talent
Low rate of corporate tax
Availability of R&D tax credits
Low rates of non-wage add-ons to labour costs
Ease of establishing an enterprise
Flexible labour
Some less well known strengths are:
The availability of seed and venture capital funds
The availability of tax breaks under various startup tax reliefs
An expanding suite of easy-to-use regimes that take unnecessary compliance costs out of
the requirement to meet regulatory standards
However, in the 2013 public consultation on entrepreneurship, various stakeholders highlighted
areas for improvement, including:
Many of the supports for startups are dif?cult to understand and complex to use
The legislation to allow people whose initial venture failed a second chance is
underdeveloped
Irish permissions and licensing are sometimes not as responsive as those of our competitors
Some elements of the tax code create unintended consequences for entrepreneurship in
areas such as Capital Gains Tax (which is seen as unfavourable for entrepreneurs).
Work has already started in making improvements in many of these areas. The suite of tax policies
that affect entrepreneurs is being reviewed. New examinership and personal insolvency regimes
have recently been put in place. A new licensing regime is being piloted in the retail sector with a
view to it being made more widely available. A new Company Law bill, which will greatly simplify
incorporation of an enterprise, is currently before the Oireachtas.
The Department of Social Protection provides support for unemployed people to start a business
in the form of the Back to Work Enterprise Allowance. To support job creation, a range of
employment supports are also available. These include a free recruitment service through the
Jobs Ireland service, the JobBridge internship scheme, ?nancial assistance through Jobs Plus
and a range of workplace support schemes to support employers who employ a person with a
disability. An Employer Pack, available on the Department of Social Protection’s website, contains
more details on these supports and services.
National Policy Statement on Entrepreneurship in Ireland 26
The Social Inclusion and Community Activation Programme (SICAP) will seek to further address
poverty and social exclusion through front-line interventions and the provision of self-employment,
community and social enterprise supports as potential routes towards addressing long term
unemployment and socio-economic disadvantage. This work and its contribution towards
self-employment is set out in detail in the Pobal report “Supporting Inclusion through Self-
employment.” In the main, this work has been undertaken by Local Development Companies,
who are supported via the assistance of the Department of Social Protection Back to Work
Enterprise Allowance (BTWEA) scheme.
It is clear that an integrated approach is needed which combines the full range of services in
supporting the development of an entrepreneurial culture in Ireland. The new Social Inclusion
and Community Activation Programme as well as the LEADER programme will play a valuable
role in driving our ambition. These programmes have a remit for working in disadvantaged
communities across the country. Local and Community Development Committees (LCDCs) have
been established in each local authority area and will be responsible along with the local authority
for the drafting of a Local Economic and Community Plan (LECP). The LECP will seek to address
community and local development responses to employment, self-employment and social
enterprise.
The Local Enterprise Of?ces (LEOs) are required to draft an annual plan for boosting enterprise
which should be complementary to the LECP. It is also essential that all sources of funding
in support of enterprise are fully complementary and avoid duplication. Therefore, strong co-
operation and consistency among all of the actors is vital in support of enterprise in each county.
To achieve the objectives of this Policy Statement, a set of actions will be developed in each of
the coming years to enhance the business environment and supports for entrepreneurs.
2.1 Taxation
The tax environment for entrepreneurs and investors in Ireland has become more challenging,
particularly when compared with the UK’s tax rates. It is critical that Ireland should remain
competitive as a location for both home-grown and internationally mobile entrepreneurs.
As emphasised in the Action Plan for Jobs 2014, the right conditions for entrepreneurship to
thrive include ?scal policy, with both tax rates and tax incentives supporting entrepreneurship and
in?uencing investment decisions. Taxation has an important role to play in developing Ireland’s
entrepreneurship ecosystem to meet the highest international standards and facilitating the
growth of startups into enduring companies offering sustainable long-term employment.
The effective tax rate, rather than the nominal rate, is regarded as one of the most important
measures of the competitiveness of a country’s tax system. Ireland’s effective corporate tax rate,
which is low, certain and affords favourable treatment of investment in research, is competitive
and transparent. It has been a key attraction for international investment and will continue to be in
the future.
2.1.1 Startup Company Relief
Startup Company Relief provides relief from corporation tax for new startup companies for the
?rst three years of trading in respect of pro?ts from a new trade and chargeable gains on the
disposal of assets used in the trade. Such relief applies if the total corporation tax payable for an
accounting period does not exceed €40,000. Marginal relief is available if the total corporation
tax payable is between €40,000 and €60,000. The value of the relief in each of the three years is
capped at the amount of employers’ PRSI paid by a company.
2.1.2 Start Your Own Business
The Start Your Own Business (SYOB) scheme provides relief from income tax for people who
were long-term unemployed (unemployed for 12 months or more and in receipt of social welfare
support/training) immediately before starting a business. The scheme provides an exemption
from income tax up to a maximum of €40,000 per annum for a period of two years for qualifying
individuals. This relief applies to income tax and does not extend to Universal Social Charge or
Pay Related Social Insurance. The relief is available in respect of unincorporated businesses set
up between 25th October 2013 and 31st December 2016. Data on take-up of the scheme is not
yet available.
National Policy Statement on Entrepreneurship in Ireland 27
2.1.3 Share Based Remuneration in Private Companies
Share based employee remuneration can signi?cantly reduce ?xed labour costs and capital
requirements, thereby providing signi?cant cash-?ow bene?ts to an enterprise, particularly a high
potential startup. The extent to which a company can avail of tax ef?cient share based employee
remuneration relief in Ireland, compared to other countries, plays a signi?cant part in this country’s
attractiveness to entrepreneurs.
Irish tax legislation allows for many types of schemes which facilitate employers who wish to
allocate shares, or grant options to buy shares, to their employees. These include share option
schemes, ‘save as you earn’ share option schemes, approved pro?t sharing schemes, restricted
share schemes and employee share ownership trusts.
The current tax treatment of share options, however, is considered to be less competitive than
that available in other countries and this is having a negative effect on the ability of Irish startups
to attract world class talent. The perceived problems concern the timing of tax liabilities, the
administrative costs involved and the high rates of capital gains tax. This creates a particular
challenge for businesses seeking engineering or executive level talent to ?ll such roles as chief
executive of?cer, chief operating of?cer and chief ?nancial of?cer.
In practice, because of the immediate tax liabilities triggered, the use of share based employee
remuneration by private companies in Ireland is limited. In addition, for smaller companies the
administrative burden of setting up such schemes is unduly high. This puts Irish-based private
companies at a distinct competitive disadvantage compared to stock exchange listed companies
when competing to attract and hire suitably skilled staff from the global talent pool.
2.1.4 Seed Capital Scheme & Employment and Investment Incentive
The Seed Capital Scheme (SCS), in conjunction with its associated scheme, the Employment and
Investment Incentive (EII), are tax relief incentive schemes. The EIIS provides tax relief to unrelated
private investors for investment in certain corporate trades. The SCS provides for a refund of
income tax already paid to those who are or were in employment which was subject to PAYE
and who establish and work full time in their own company when that individual makes a relevant
investment in a qualifying company.
Neither the SCS nor the EII is used extensively, indicating that reforms are probably required
to improve the promotion and uptake of these measures. Both schemes are currently being
reviewed by the Department of Finance ahead of Budget 2015.
2.1.5 Capital Gains Tax
Investment and reinvestment of capital are essential to enterprise development. Following a
number of capital gains tax (CGT) rate increases in recent years, Ireland’s CGT rate has increased
to a relatively high rate in international terms of 33 per cent, without any indexation allowance
to compensate for the effects of in?ation. These increases in CGT rates create a challenge
for Ireland’s competitiveness. They have been made during a period in which many other
countries have gone in the opposite direction, enhancing their competitiveness as a location for
entrepreneurial activity by signi?cantly improving their tax treatment of capital gains.
Subject to EU State aid clearance, Budget 2014 introduced a targeted CGT relief designed
to encourage business people to re-invest the proceeds of previous asset disposals into new
business ventures. The bene?t of this incentive is restricted in the current ?scal circumstances, but
it will be reviewed with a view to improving it in the light of experience and other developments.
2.2 Business Registration
The quickest country in which to register a new business is New Zealand, where it takes just half
a day, according to the World Bank’s ‘Doing Business’ Survey 2013. In Ireland it takes 10 days,
putting the country in 10th place internationally. The global average time for business registration
is now around 30 days – a signi?cant improvement on the average of 50 days recorded in 2005. It
is notable that many of the countries with the fastest new business registration services, i.e. New
Zealand, Australia, Singapore, Canada and Denmark, offer electronic registration.
Work is ongoing to signi?cantly reduce the time and cost of company incorporations in Ireland.
Over the past three years alone the Companies Registration Of?ce (CRO) has reduced processing
time by three days and the cost of registration by one third, achievements due to augmenting its
online business registration facility. The CRO intends to reduce the average length of time required
to register a new business to eight days in 2014 and to seven days in 2015.
National Policy Statement on Entrepreneurship in Ireland 28
With regard to registering for tax, customer service standards for business tax registration require
that 100% of such applications are completed within ?ve working days, with the exception of
10 working days for VAT registration applications. There is scope to continue to improve these
registration processes.
2.3 Reducing Administrative Burdens
The High Level Group on Business Regulation is a standing dialogue of of?cials, business and
union representatives, chaired by the DJEI, which is responsible for identifying ways of reducing
the burden of red tape on business. The Group encourages business to bring key regulatory
burdens and unnecessary process complexity to its attention along with proposed solutions that
might be pursued by the Group in order to improve the way Government agencies interact with
business.
An easy to use web portal (businessregulation.ie) for all key business regulatory compliance issues
has been introduced to help reduce the regulatory burden on the enterprise sector. Launched in
June 2012, the portal brings together in one place information on regulations imposed by over 30
Government bodies and how companies can best comply with them.
An integrated licensing system is also to be introduced. This will provide businesses with a single
web portal through which businesses will be able to apply for and renew a wide range of licences.
The new system will be developed for the retail sector in the ?rst instance and subsequently rolled
out to other sectors of the economy.
Much effort has already been put into streamlining Company Law obligations and compliance
obligations to make them easy to understand and execute for compliant enterprises. The
Companies Bill 2012 restructures, consolidates, simpli?es and modernises company law in
Ireland, with the ultimate aim of improving Ireland’s competitive position as a location for business
investment. It provides a state-of-the-art framework for all businesses operating in Ireland, both
domestic and foreign based, and will be enacted in 2014.
To assist with compliance, simpli?cation tools will be provided. BeSMART is one example of this.
Introduced by the Health and Safety Authority, this free on-line risk assessment tool is aimed
speci?cally at Small and Medium Enterprises and has the potential to bring about €50 million in
compliance cost savings for business.
Work will continue to drive ef?ciencies in many of the necessary interactions of new businesses
with the State e.g. turnaround time for work permits, more online facilities and ?rst stop shop
services.
2.4 Supports
Ireland has developed an extensive range of supports for startups. The direct spend on these
programmes is over €100 million per annum. A sample of the scale and cost of various
programmes are summarised below and further details are provided in Appendix 1.
Programme €m 2013 Participating Enterprises 2013
High Potential Startups 21.7 104
Competitive Start 4.3 60
HPSU Feasibility Study 2.6 212
Competitive Feasibility 1.0 43
New Frontiers 6.1 144
EI - Mentoring 0.6 513
LEO Grants 10 776
LEO - Mentoring 2.0 6,500
Startup Training 4.0 3,800
Seed & Venture Capital 55.0 186
Commercialisation Fund 15.7 64
Incubation Centres (26) 2.0 355
National Policy Statement on Entrepreneurship in Ireland 29
The supports available range from startup training and feasibility study grants to direct support,
access to seed and venture capital and various levels of mentoring and capacity building. Of the
12,000 startups each year the DJEI enterprise agencies provide direct support to approximately
1,200 and soft (i.e. non-?nancial) support to over 4,000. Direct support is only made available to
enterprises with the capacity to export, an approach which remains an important policy principle.
Recent reorganisation of the Local Enterprise Of?ces into a ‘First Stop Shop’ for all business
supports has made it much easier for businesses and potential entrepreneurs to access the wide
range of services provided by the different government agencies.
The business support programmes offered are subjected to rolling evaluation. To date these
evaluations have been positive, identifying good bene?t to cost ratios. Where appropriate,
recommendations for improvements have been made as a result of these evaluations. A wider
range of performance indicators will be developed on foot of this Policy Statement to benchmark
progress and compare best practice at home and abroad. A set of challenging performance
targets will also be set for all agencies involved in the provision of business supports.
Early intervention by the Local Enterprise Of?ces and Enterprise Ireland continue to play an
important role in helping people to establish businesses, accelerate their business development
and to build up the skills and contacts needed to successfully start and grow. These interventions
are provided through various channels such as business planning support, mentoring, feasibility
funding, competitive start funding, innovation vouchers, entrepreneur development programmes
such as New Frontiers, workshops, networks and incubation and accelerator programmes.
To improve the performance of startups further, one of the aims of this Policy Statement is to
increase the emphasis placed on the quality of interventions. The mix of programmes and the
resources allocated to them will be closely tracked to ensure optimum impact. Areas offering
potential for improvement include:
The number of HPSUs achieving scale
The number of LEO clients’ progressing into overseas markets and into EI programmes
The range and quality of mentoring, the level of access to new support providers and the
level of choice given to entrepreneurs
Better integration of the Community Enterprise Centres into the Local policy for
entrepreneurship
The opportunity to make greater use in an integrated way of the supports across government
Opportunities to work with other stakeholders to develop hubs for entrepreneurship and
sectoral clusters to support startups
Delivery of greater commercial impact by the innovation system
The capacity of startups to evaluate the ?nancial aspects of their businesses and to present
this information in a credible way to potential funding sources
Basic business skills are essential for all potential entrepreneurs. Between 2005 and 2010,
18,899 individuals participated in one of the Start Your Own Business training courses provided
countrywide by the LEOs. Year on year the number participating grew by an average of 7.5 per
cent. Analysis indicates that at least half of all course participants go on to start a business, while
10 per cent use what they have learned to enhance their management of an existing business.
Benchmarking the quality and outcomes of these courses against best international practice is an
important requirement for the providers of these Start Your Own Business courses.
The attrition rate for new companies within the ?rst ?ve years is high (52% failed within ?ve years
of starting up, according to CSO data for the period 2007 to 2012). This suggests there is a
strong need to ensure that the framework conditions and targeted actions for entrepreneurship
support the long term survival and sustainable growth of high quality businesses. This Policy
Statement, therefore, seeks to put as much emphasis on new startup sustainability as it does
on facilitating increases in the numbers of startups. Entrepreneurs need to be encouraged to
recognise quickly if a business idea is not working, to learn from their experience and to try again.
Appropriate supports bear fruit in terms of survival rates. Overall, the survival rate for enterprises
that are State supported (in existence after ?ve years) is high. This ranges from 68% in LEO
supported enterprises to over 85% for Enterprise Ireland’s High Potential Startups (HPSUs).
National Policy Statement on Entrepreneurship in Ireland 30
2.5 Local Enterprise Of?ces (LEOs)
Promoting entrepreneurship at local level is a key objective of this policy statement. The new
Local Enterprise Of?ce (LEO) structure combines the expert knowledge of the former County and
City Enterprise Boards (CEBs) and the business development expertise of the Local Authorities.
This new structure will be overseen by the dedicated National Centre of Excellence in Enterprise
Ireland which will ensure that best-practice will prevail across the LEO network. All 31 LEOs
opened for business on 15th April 2014 following the legal dissolution of the CEBs. The model
will ensure that support for the startup and micro-enterprise sector will be considerably enhanced
by offering easy access to a wider range of supports by tapping into the potential for local
authorities to use their reach to open up opportunities and solutions for startups, and by testing
and developing innovative approaches.
The role of the Enterprise Ireland Centre of Excellence is to provide strategic, administrative and
technical supports to the LEOs. The aim is to optimise the effect of the LEOs on the development
and growth of the micro and small business sector at local level, with a cumulative positive effect
at national level. There will be close oversight of the performance of programmes through service
level agreements and evaluations. Given the stronger connectivity of the LEOs to Enterprise
Ireland from both a policy and practical perspective, the progression of appropriate LEO
supported businesses to becoming EI supported businesses will become more structured and
coherent. In particular, the Centre of Excellence will develop and manage a formal client transfer
mechanism and play a lead role in linking high potential LEO clients to the Potential Exporters
Division in Enterprise Ireland. In addition, the development of robust and targeted metrics for the
LEOs as part of their Local Enterprise Development Plans will help them prepare their clients for a
more seamless transition to becoming EI clients.
The LEOs will also have a particular focus on female and youth entrepreneurship though such
initiatives as the Women in Business Networks, National Women’s Enterprise Day, the Student
Enterprise Awards scheme and the recently launched Ireland’s Best Young Entrepreneur
Competition. However, the LEOs will also be key drivers of entrepreneurship across society
through both formal interventions and initiatives such as workshops, seminars and promotional
activities. Their higher local, regional and national pro?le, the new tripartite partnership with the
Local Authorities and Enterprise Ireland and the new relationships and linkages with other State
Agencies and Bodies will all contribute to this broad societal focus.
2.6 North/South
InterTradeIreland is tasked by the Irish and UK Governments to boost North/South economic co-
operation to the mutual bene?t of Ireland and Northern Ireland. By encouraging better use of our
collective resources, InterTradeIreland helps to expedite trade and business growth across the
island and create an environment in which it is easier to do business. A cross-border approach to
entrepreneurship offers an opportunity for the entrepreneur to access resources such as capital,
labour and technology that can spark new ideas. It also facilitates growth and enables them to
gain valuable export experience that can lead to export activity further a?eld.
InterTradeIreland runs a range of initiatives and programmes for startups and SMEs on both
sides of the Border to help those companies develop their capability particularly in the areas
of innovation, sales and marketing. These supports include advice on capacity building, public
procurement, export development, technology transfer as well as assistance on research,
development and innovation initiatives. InterTradeIreland support SMEs across the island
to identify and develop North/South trade and innovation opportunities through business
programmes, research and statistics and networks and partnerships.
The main supports provided by InterTradeIreland are:
Sales & marketing
Acumen (sales & marketing support)
Elevate (sales development support for small business)
Go-2-Tender (tender workshops, training and mentoring)
Trade accelerator vouchers
Trade statistics website
National Policy Statement on Entrepreneurship in Ireland 31
Innovation & Collaboration
Fusion (technology transfer through company graduate-academic partnership)
Challenge (business transformation and strategic planning)
Horizon 2020 supports – voucher scheme and information service
Equity Finance
Business Angel networks
All-Island Seedcorn Investor Readiness competition
The work of InterTrade Ireland, which is co-funded by the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and
Innovation, is designed to build capacity and scale and encourage entrepreneurship in a cross-
border context. The challenges for developing SMEs in the Border Region and in developing
linkages and cooperation between businesses on both sides of the border generally, to develop
business and trade, are closely aligned with our wider ambitions for developing entrepreneurship.
A huge opportunity exists to build synergies between enterprises in both jurisdictions for mutual
advantage and to help overcome the challenges which have built up over recent decades.
The achievements of Intertrade Ireland, in terms of getting entrepreneurs engaged in business
development and job creation fully ?t with the Government’s wider enterprise strategies.
National Policy Statement on Entrepreneurship in Ireland 32
Key Actions:
Business Environment & Supports
Create a business environment, in terms of company law, taxation, regulation and
licensing, which makes it is easy to start and grow a new business and makes Ireland
one of the most attractive environments for entrepreneurship in Europe. (DJEI and other
relevant Depts)
Review and consider further amendments to the Employment and Investment Incentive (EII)
scheme to ful?l its potential as a non-bank (equity) source of funding for SMEs. (D/Finance,
Revenue)
Review and consider further amendments to the Seed Capital Scheme (SCS) to encourage
and support individuals to establish and work in their own companies. (D/Finance,
Revenue)
Develop an integrated licensing application service to help reduce the regulatory burden on
the enterprise sector. (DJEI)
Streamline Company Law obligations and compliance obligations so they are easy to
understand and execute. (DJEI)
Make it easier for a company to qualify for audit exemption. (DJEI)
Increase business types for which BeSMART is available to include construction and
agriculture. (HSA)
Promote best-in-class standards across the network of Enterprise Ireland, Local
Enterprise Of?ces and Údaras na Gaeltachta to exploit fully the enterprise assets of
their community and foster new thinking in the enterprise area
Each LEO will develop a Local Enterprise Development Plan for boosting enterprise.
Key targets in the local plan will be new business startups, business expansions and
jobs created or sustained as well as wider economic impacts such as exports, mentoring,
training and enterprise promotion. (LEOs)
Local authorities and Local Community Development Committees (LCDCs) will make
6 year Local Economic and Community Plans which will seek to promote economic
development and address social exclusion and economic disadvantage in local authority
areas. The LECP will seek to address community and local development responses to
employment, self-employment and social enterprise. (Local authorities, LCDCs, DECLG)
Each Leo will identify how it can facilitate hubs where startups can be established in a
supportive network before moving on to accommodate for the next cohort of emerging
enterprises. A key approach will be to build on the 100+ Community Enterprise Centres
across the country by implementing local protocols to ensure the LEOs are fully integrated
into the enterprise development plans of each county. (LEOs)
The Centre of Excellence in Enterprise Ireland will develop a competitive fund to promote
innovation within and across LEO’s to enhance the support environment for startups,
with a particular emphasis on regions that have struggled to achieve employment
growth. Enterprise Ireland will also publish a report each year on the startup environment
across the LEOs network, identifying areas of excellence and areas for improvement and
innovation. (EI, LEOs)
Initiatives will be developed at local and regional levels to encourage business to work with
LEOs and Údaras na Gaeltachta to support more startups establish, survive and grow (e.g.
through mentoring or networking). (LEOs, ÚnaG)
Initiatives will be developed to increase the ?ow of LEO and Údaras na Gaeltachta
supported enterprises progressing into Enterprise Ireland’s Potential Exporters Division.
(EI, LEOs, ÚnaG)
National Policy Statement on Entrepreneurship in Ireland 33
Údarás na Gaeltachta will implement measures to support early stage business
development with a particular focus on regional competitive advantage in speci?c
sectors, including cultural tourism, audiovisual and digital technology, marine
resources, niche manufacturing, food & beverages and creative language-based
services. (ÚnaG)
Stimulate and support high levels of quality entrepreneurial ventures which have
high growth, export, wealth and job creation potential
EI will aim to increase its overall level of startup clients by 12% to 550 over the 2014-
2016 strategic period. (EI)
Údarás na Gaeltachta will aim to increase its overall level of startups by 10% over the
period 2015- 2017. (ÚnaG)
Work with all supported enterprise centres (CECs, BICs etc.) to set out ambitions for
the cultivation of startups and to publish performance metrics. (DJEI)
Conduct an audit and evaluation of the quality and outcomes of the Start Your Own
Business Courses offered across the country. Benchmark the quality and outcomes
of these courses in Ireland against international best practice. (DJEI and other
Depts./Agencies)
Vigorously promote the full range of supports to startups under the Action Plan for
Jobs brand to ensure startups are aware of and avail of the full range of available
supports. (DJEI)
The CEDRA Interdepartmental Group and other agencies will develop entrepreneurial
activities in rural areas. (CEDRA, LEOs, EI)
National Policy Statement on Entrepreneurship in Ireland 34
There are
huge inter-
dependencies
between
entrepreneurship
and innovation
policies
Innovation
3
There are huge inter-dependencies between entrepreneurship and
innovation policies. Entrepreneurs need access to innovative ideas,
products, processes and services. Equally, innovative products,
processes and services need entrepreneurs who are prepared to
take risks and develop appropriate business strategies to bring ideas
to market. Both entrepreneurship and innovation are associated
with “doing something new” and policies can be mutually reinforcing
in re-creating economic dynamism. Therefore, maintaining and
increasing our capacity for innovation requires fundamental support
for entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial innovation.
Enterprise Ireland works with entrepreneurs and innovative startups at all stages of growth,
partnering with the LEOs, the universities and the Institutes of Technology to bring together the
State’s support structures in a way that works for the entrepreneur.
The Government funds Campus Incubation facilities on every university and Institute of
Technology and these accommodate over 350 companies and over 1,500 people.
Increasing company participation in industry/academic collaborative projects continues to be a
challenge. Creating a collaborative environment between industry and academia is an important
element in the entrepreneurship ecosystem.
3.1 Innovation Supports
Entrepreneurs can access a range of pre-investment supports from Enterprise Ireland or their
Local Enterprise Of?ce which enable them to investigate the viability and potential of a business
idea and to develop their business proposition. Supports available to entrepreneurs include:
New Frontiers Programme
A national incubation programme hosted by the Institutes of Technology that offers participants a
package of supports to help accelerate their business development and to equip them with the
skills to successfully start and grow a company.
Competitive Feasibility Funds
Aimed at assisting entrepreneurs to investigate the viability of a new growth orientated business
that can succeed in global markets. The focus is on developing new businesses that can move
beyond the domestic market and demonstrate real potential for internationalisation.
HPSU Feasibility Study
Used to investigate the viability and potential of an innovative/high potential startup and the
development of an Investor-ready Business Plan.
When companies have a well-developed business plan and are “investor-ready” they can also
access the following supports to facilitate the implementation of company business plans:
National Policy Statement on Entrepreneurship in Ireland 35
Competitive Start Fund
In the initial phase, early-stage startup companies can face dif?culties in raising external ?nancing.
The CSF aims to assist startups to bridge this gap and quickly validate their market.
Innovative HPSU Programme
Allows Enterprise Ireland to offer equity investment to HPSU clients on a co-funded basis to
support the implementation of a company’s business plans. First time and follow-on equity
investments in HPSUs are supported under this offer. Enterprise Ireland can help companies by
providing information on the main sources of private investment.
These are all important programmes which can also be used to foster more diversity of
entrepreneurial activity eg. by targeting calls for females, speci?c industry sectors and age
cohorts.
Encouraging and supporting innovation and research collaboration is a core mission driven by a
range of programmes designed to meet company needs at various stages of development, from
Innovation Vouchers worth €5,000 to Innovation Partnerships worth €250,000. These schemes
help Irish-based companies that are working with Irish research institutes to access the expertise
and resources they need to develop new and improved products, processes, services, and to
generate new knowledge and know-how.
Enterprise Ireland has committed to redeveloping its Innovation Partnership Programme with a
view to encouraging additional smaller collaborative research projects between companies and
researchers in HEIs by facilitating smaller ‘right-sized’ projects for companies to address speci?c
individual industry needs.
3.2 High Potential Startups
High Potential Startups, also known as High Growth Innovative Startups, are a global
phenomenon. There has been an explosion in the number of startups worldwide and countries
and cities are competing to attract the best. There is also a growing debate internationally
amongst business founders, venture capitalists and Governments about how to scale this
generation of startups.
The Irish experience of growing companies from foundation to scale is that it is a relatively slow
process, with the journey to €5 million turnover being the longest stretch, even for high-tech
startups. While the ‘high-tech Silicon Valley’ model suggests a much faster trajectory is possible,
few high-tech startups conceived outside the U.S. – more speci?cally, outside Silicon Valley –
have evolved into even medium size global companies within short timeframes. Enterprise Ireland
is responsible for supporting HPSU companies. HPSUs are startup businesses with the potential
to develop an innovative product or service for sale on international markets and the potential
to create 10 jobs and €1 million in sales within three to four years of starting up. Quite a high
proportion of Irish HPSUs struggle to reach the revenue milestones and scale hoped for them.
That said, Enterprise Ireland’s experiences is that with appropriate mentoring and other supports,
the length of time successful Irish startups are taking to reach key revenue milestones is reducing.
Enterprise Ireland is focussing on capability building post seed funding to accelerate the number
of companies achieving key revenue milestones and the speed at which these are achieved. It
will devote more resources to those businesses demonstrating their potential to achieve scale
within three to ?ve years. These companies will receive a range of additional supports, including
management development, peer-to-peer support and mentoring to build their capability to realise
their scaling potential. These efforts are expected to deliver a signi?cant increase in the number of
HPSUs reaching sales of over €1 million within three years. The proportion of HPSUs achieving
this goal is expected to rise from 20% HPSUs in 2013 to 30% by 2016.
3.3 Innovation in Services & Business Processes
The Entrepreneurship Forum Report recognises that innovation is -
“’about continuously seeking to improve product, service, operations, people, or any other facet
of a business that will add value for the customer and the work?ow.”
This was also recognised by the National Research Prioritisation exercise which identi?ed
Innovation in Services and Business Processes (ISBP) as one of the 14 priority areas for targeted
funding and support.
National Policy Statement on Entrepreneurship in Ireland 36
Advances in technology have created new opportunities for companies to innovate their service
delivery and business processes. These opportunities include new monetising models, new
channels for service delivery and improved customer experiences. The vision for ISBP is to
capture customer centric innovation that combines non-technological and technological know-
how in order to conceive and develop new globally successful operating models, products and
business services. Any gaps in the system will be identi?ed and ?lled to ensure that ISBP in
Ireland is aligned with international best practice.
3.4 Science, Technology & Innovation
Irish Science, Technology & Innovation policy has evolved over recent years with an increase
in focus on accelerating the economic and societal impact of public investment in research
and greater emphasis on further increasing industry/academic collaborations and the
commercialisation of research. This is re?ected in a range of new initiatives, including:
Targeting public investment in research in areas which demonstrate a clear industry need
and competitive market opportunity.
Extending Science Foundation Ireland’s (SFI) mandate to include applied research and
increasing industry participation in SFI centres (30% industry contribution, cash and in-
kind)
The introduction of SFI’s industry Fellowship Scheme, which facilitates two-way exchanges
between researchers and enterprise, and the Irish Research Council’s Employment-Based
Postgraduate Programme (PhD and Masters).
The publication of an Intellectual Property Protocol designed to make it easier for business
to engage with academics by providing clarity and certainty around how IP emerging from
the research should be handled.
The establishment of Knowledge Transfer Ireland (KTI) as a central reference point for
entrepreneurs, investors and industry, signposting them to the wealth of technology
opportunities and research talent that exist in Research Performing Organisations.
These initiatives are aimed at deriving improved impact from the substantial resources invested
in the innovation policy area – research centres, technology centres, campus incubators etc. A
key indicator of success will be an increased ?ow of new enterprises exploiting technological
opportunities.
3.5 Horizon 2020
The National Support Network for Horizon 2020 is focussed on ensuring that Ireland continues
to perform strongly in the EU Research Programme for Research and Innovation. The National
Support Network for Horizon 2020 is encouraging participants to seek participation in larger,
more valuable projects. Ireland has set a target of winning €1.25 billion in EU research funding
over the next seven years. This is double the level of funding secured by Irish-based researchers
under the previous programme (FP7).
3.6 Intellectual Property – Contractual Issues
The Entrepreneurship Forum identi?ed contractual relationships as a challenge for industry and
academics undertaking collaborative research projects. In response, KTI has published a ?rst set
of model agreements and guidelines on its web portal. Combined with the guidance notes also
published, these should help companies enter into appropriate forms of contract with HEIs more
easily and accelerate the transaction process. KTI has committed to engaging with stakeholders
to consider the case for introduction of Easy Access IP into the Irish system for certain early-stage
IP, which could prove particularly bene?cial to early-stage companies.
This is intended is to reduce the barriers to risk taking in order to transfer IP rapidly into the hands
of companies well positioned to exploit it commercially. Other initiatives already underway to
address the contractual issues identi?ed by the Entrepreneurship Forum include:
National Policy Statement on Entrepreneurship in Ireland 37
Express Licensing
DCU has piloted short form licensing to the ICT sector in situations in which speed to
market and freedom to operate are the key IP drivers. KTI will consider how this process
might be rolled out alongside the Easy Access IP model.
Research contracts for Graduate Student projects with industry
KTI is working with the Irish Research Council to clarify how IP is treated in its Employment-
Based Postgraduate Programme with the aim of increasing certainty and security for
participating companies.
There is clearly a bene?t in making contracting between companies and HEIs as swift and easy
as possible. But changes to achieve this cannot be at the expense of contractual clarity about
the deliverables of such engagement and how any bene?ts arising from the collaboration will be
shared. Industry has indicated that guidelines issued by Enterprise Ireland through its Innovation
Voucher and Innovation Partnership programmes are helpful and KTI will use these as a starting
point to create collaboration guidelines speci?cally for startup businesses.
3.7 Increasing Inward Entrepreneurship
International competition for mobile entrepreneurs is intense around the world, with a number
of countries offering attractive incentives to very early stage entrepreneurs. Ireland has recently
reformed the Immigrant Investor Programme (IIP) and the Startup Entrepreneur Programme
(STEP) to further enhance their attractiveness to investors and entrepreneurs.
Enterprise Ireland has a dedicated team focussed on overseas entrepreneurship designed
to bring in new sources of HPSUs. Since this initiative was launched Enterprise Ireland has
supported 35 high potential start-ups that were led by overseas entrepreneurs and there is room
for further growth.
Changes are proposed in the Employment Permits (Amendment) Bill 2014, currently before the
Dail, which are designed to relax certain regulations on the issuing of employment permits. The
Bill provides that the existing provision requiring that at least 50% of an enterprise’s employees
must be Irish or EEA nationals may be waived for enterprise start-ups on the recommendation of
one of the State’s enterprise development agencies.
The Employment Permits system also gives priority to skills listed on the Highly Skilled
Occupations List (HSOL), which is closely aligned to the Expert Group on Future Skills Needs
(EGFSN) analysis. These skills include all occupations relating to ICT, including actuaries and
statisticians for the purposes of developments in Big Data and occupations in engineering,
?nancial services, medicine and the sciences where speci?c skills shortages are identi?ed.
Achievement the Government’s vision for entrepreneurship requires the development of a strong
entrepreneurial culture and effective networks in the education system for commercialising ideas.
These elements will play important roles in making Ireland an attractive location for immigrant
students, investors and entrepreneurs. Efforts to promote Ireland as an attractive location
for internationally mobile startup must be prioritised to ensure a strong ?ow of high potential
technology startups by immigrant entrepreneurs.
National Policy Statement on Entrepreneurship in Ireland 38
Key Actions:
Innovation
Make Ireland a location of choice for high quality international startups
Develop an integrated marketing programme involving Team Ireland (EI, IDA, Embassy
Network) to promote Ireland as a location for international startups. In particular to:
– Develop the programme of Startup Ambassadors for Ireland.
– Promote the newly reformed Startup Entrepreneur Programme,
– Promote commercialisation opportunities and entrepreneurship bootcamps among
high-tech targets,
– Promote the temporary relaxation in permit rules for startups.
Develop the best infrastructure to support the commercialisation of technology
as a new business opportunity (Knowledge Transfer Ireland; Campus Incubators;
Commercialisation Fund; Technology Centres).
EI will develop an Innovation Partnership service for smaller projects seeking to address
identi?ed industry needs. (EI)
The Innovation Services and Business Processes (ISBP) Advisory Group will address
the recommendations made in the Forfás report Assessment of Publicly Funded RD&I
Supports for Innovation in Services and Business Processes which identi?es how Ireland
can best support research development and innovation in ISBP under the auspices of the
Research Prioritisation Action Group. (Research Prioritisation Action Group)
EI will conduct an impact evaluation of the Campus Incubation Programme, including an
analysis of international comparisons to ensure it meets best practice and identi?cation of
any unmet industry demands. (EI)
EI will develop a startup module within the National Health Innovation Hub (which is being
established) to support innovations emerging from the health system. (EI)
EI will seek to increase the number of spinouts each year from Technology Transfer Of?ces
by 25% over the three years to 2016 against the 2013 baseline ?gure. (EI)
EI will seek to increase the number of licences from Technology Transfer Of?ces by 20%
over the four years from 2013-2016 inclusive. (EI)
SFI will target 120 licenses and 21 spinouts from the seven SFI Research Centres over
the six funded years from 2013-2019. (SFI)
Údarás na Gaeltachta will develop a Coastal Marine Innovation Hub in conjunction with
relevant State bodies. (ÚnaG, B.I.M)
National Policy Statement on Entrepreneurship in Ireland 39
Develop a support framework to assist innovative startups reach their
full potential
KTI will become a central reference point for entrepreneurs and industry,
signposting them to the wealth of technology opportunities and academic
talent that exist in Research Performing Organisations. (KTI)
KTI will create a searchable national database of licencing opportunities in
order to increase the visibility of research opportunities to industry. (KTI)
KTI will consider implementing a national Easy Access IP model and
the possible merit of rolling-out an “express licensing” model to transfer
IP rapidly into the hands of companies well positioned to exploit it
commercially. (KTI)
KTI will provide a suite of model agreements and supporting guidance
notes for business including speci?c ‘HEI/Startup guidelines’ to facilitate
the interaction between industry and HEIs, for inclusion in the IP Protocol.
(KTI)
Maximise opportunities presented by Horizon 2020. (EI, SFI, IRC)
A stable and
appropriate
supply of ?nance
promotes growth,
encourages
startups and
enables existing
?rms to expand
by exploiting
trade and
investment
opportunities
A stable and appropriate supply of ?nance promotes growth,
encourages startups and enables existing ?rms to expand by
exploiting trade and investment opportunities. It also brings
bene?ts to the economy by supporting business growth and
market competition, thereby generating wealth and increasing
the employment needs of businesses.
As the Entrepreneurship Forum identi?ed, access to ?nance
is always a critical issue for startups. To get their business
started many Irish entrepreneurs rely on either on bank
loans or on bootstrap ?nance – little if any equity, minimal
borrowings and heavy reliance on immediately available
cash ?ow generated by the business. Both approaches have
been negatively affected by the recession and early-stage
companies continue to experience dif?culties gaining access
to the funding they require to realise the visions of their
founders. In many cases the lack of a ?rst reference sale or
credit history are key barriers to accessing bank ?nance.
4.1 Access to bank lending
Banks will need to engage more deeply with individual sectors
of the economy and develop both relevant expertise and
?nancial products to support enterprises within these sectors. This includes improved access to
working capital for exporting ?rms and the provision of trade ?nance to business. Banks also need
to explore opportunities for increased co-operation with non-bank ?nancial institutions as a way
of ensuring that Irish startups and early-stage businesses have a spectrum of ?nance available to
them that is as good as that available anywhere else in the world.
The Government has introduced legislation to establish the Strategic Banking Corporation Ireland
(SBCI). Over €800 million in new credit is to be made available to Irish SMEs through the SBCI,
which will develop ?nancial products to ?ll gaps in the existing offerings by banks. The SBCI will
be launched in quarter 4 of 2014 and will commence lending by the end of 2014.
Skillnets, which is funded from the National Training Fund (NTF) through the Department of
Education and Skills (DES), launched the Building Financial Capability in SMEs programme in
2014 under its ManagementWorks initiative. This two day programme, which results directly from
an initiative announced in Budget 2014, is intended to help SMEs develop the skills they need to
improve their ability to secure business ?nancing. The programme will be delivered nationwide
to 1,000 participating businesses in 2014 and includes two days of workshops and two one-to-
one mentoring sessions. The Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation (DJEI) is funding
the programme, which will be delivered by trainers and mentors with substantial experience of
working with both SME owner managers, banks and other providers of business ?nance.
Access to
Finance
4
National Policy Statement on Entrepreneurship in Ireland 40
4.2 Alternative and innovative sources of ?nancing
More diverse sources of ?nance are needed to realise our ambitions for entrepreneurship. The
State has already undertaken a number of initiatives in this respect. For example, the seed and
venture capital markets in Ireland have tripled in size in the past decade, with almost half of
this ?nance coming from funds leveraged by Enterprise Ireland. Enterprise Ireland funds have
increased the availability, in particular, of seed funding.
One of the biggest challenges for businesses seeking to raise equity ?nance is to become investor
ready in order to increase their chances of success. In certain sectors investment funding is a
particular challenge. For example, the funding environment internationally for companies in the
cleantech and medical devices sectors is currently weak. Similarly, while there is an emerging
focus on next generation manufacturing startups and a broad recognition of their potential, there
are few experienced funders in the market to provide the risk capital needed to start and grow a
manufacturing startup.
Research in other countries indicates there is considerable potential in Ireland to increase the
range of alternative lending instruments available to startups, including peer-to-peer lending,
supply chain ?nance and crowd funding. These alternative ?nancing activities can be valuable
sources of funding to startup enterprises, either as a complement to traditional bank funding or as
an alternative if an application for bank credit is declined.
4.3 Micro?nance Ireland & Credit Guarantee Scheme
Micro?nance Ireland and the SME Credit Guarantee Scheme are State initiatives introduced
in October 2012 to address two categories of business experiencing dif?culties in obtaining
conventional bank ?nance. The Credit Guarantee Scheme facilitates the provision of additional
bank lending to commercially viable SMEs that either have insuf?cient collateral or operate in
categories perceived by the commercial banks as being high risk. The scheme provides a 75%
State guarantee to banks against losses on qualifying loans. Micro?nance Ireland provides loans
from the Microenterprise Loan Fund of up to €25,000 each to microenterprises that have been
refused bank credit.
Take-up of these schemes by SMEs has not been as high as anticipated and a review of both
initiatives is underway to identify the necessary actions to enhance the take up and impact of both
schemes.
4.4 Venture Capital
Venture capital is an essential source of funding for innovative and internationally oriented startups
seeking to achieve scale quickly. In the last 10 years Irish venture capital ?rms have invested €1.5
billion in Irish SMEs and leveraged a further €1.5 billion from international investors into the Irish
market. The sizes of the venture capital funds have increased and the skill set of Irish venture
capitalists has deepened considerably in recent years, thereby ensuring a sizeable pool of capital
is available to early-stage Irish companies. However, a shortage of capital worldwide for venture
investment is creating uncertainty about the level of future in?ows to Ireland.
The National Pensions Reserve Fund (NPRF) has been working closely with EI on the
development of Innovation Fund Ireland (IFI), a Government initiative designed to attract leading
international venture capital fund managers to Ireland. Venture capital funds that receive an
investment from EI have to invest a meaningful proportion of their fund in Irish companies or
companies with signi?cant Irish operations. By June 2014, Enterprise Ireland had made four
investment commitments through IFI with a combined value of approximately €80 million, out
of a total EI allocation to the fund of €125 million. By June 2014, the NPRF had made seven
investment commitments through IFI with a combined value of approximately €116 million out of
its €125 million allocation to IFI.
National Policy Statement on Entrepreneurship in Ireland 41
4.5 Access to Finance – Priorities under the APJ
Through the actions set out in the Action Plan for Jobs 2014, the Government is placing a
strong emphasis on implementation, policy innovation, monitoring and learning and on active
engagement with a diverse range of public and private participants in the ?nance arena. There
will be a strong emphasis in the future on broadening the range of bank and non-bank ?nance
mechanisms available to companies and increasing awareness of the supports available. Work
will also continue to ensure a strengthening of the linkages between SME capability building,
advice and access to ?nance.
Key challenges remain in terms of design features, which have limited the take up of a number of
State supported ?nance initiatives, such as the Seed Capital Scheme, Employment Investment
Incentive, Micro?nance Ireland and the Credit Guarantee Scheme. The Government will prioritise
work on improving existing supports and raising awareness, with a view to increasing the
take-up of the State supported ?nance initiatives. The SME State Bodies Group, chaired by
the Department of Finance, will continue to raise awareness of the schemes by promoting the
“Supporting SMEs” online tool (www.localenterprise.ie/smeonlinetool) in the relevant fora.
EI and the Business Innovation Centres (BICs) will continue to assist clients to become “investor
ready” and guide them through the fundraising process to enhance their chance of securing
funding. Efforts will be made to enhance Halo Business Angel Network (HBAN), a joint initiative
between Enterprise Ireland, InterTradeIreland and the Irish Business and Innovation Centres which
is managed by Dublin Business Innovation Centre.
4.6 EU Initiatives
Two speci?c EU initiatives include elements aimed at increasing access to ?nance. These are the
EU programme for the Competitiveness of Enterprises and Small and Medium-sized Enterprises
(COSME) and Creative Europe. Both of these funds will offer opportunities for accessing ?nancial
guarantees, with the former open to all SMEs and the latter aimed at SMEs in the Culture and
Creative Industries (CCI) sector, primarily the audio-visual sector and trans-European cultural co-
operation projects.
Creative Europe was developed in response to a widely held view that SMEs in the CCI sector
experience particular dif?culties in assessing the economic value of such intangible assets
as “novelty, soft innovation, copyright and creativity” and their failure to re?ect this in ?nancial
accounts. One of the aims of this element of the programme will be to help ?nancial intermediaries
gain a better understanding of the creative industries sector.
The budget for COSME, while comparatively small in relation to other enterprise facing
programmes, provides some opportunities for improving access to ?nance for SMEs and
augmenting the important support service delivered by the Enterprise Europe Network (EEN)
Ireland, managed by Enterprise Ireland.
The current support structure for SMEs seeking support in accessing EU funding
programmes is provided by DJEI in conjunction with Enterprise Ireland (National Support
Network – 32 National Contact Points drawn from ten agencies). As stated above, the EEN
Ireland of?ce is funded through COSME and will be a constituent member of the National
Support Network.
The rationalisation of this support structure across the two programmes will avoid an
overly disparate approach and should ensure a consistent/coordinated structure to secure
additional funding.
National Policy Statement on Entrepreneurship in Ireland 42
Key Actions:
Access to Finance
Expand the range of access to ?nance instruments to match our ambition as a startup
hub so that all viable businesses have the opportunity to access suf?cient ?nance to meet
their needs
Improve monitoring of the supply and demand for bank credit within the SME sector,
particularly, the high rate of refusal among micro enterprises, taking account of developments
across the European Union. (D/Finance)
Evaluate the Skillnets pilot Building Financial Capability in SMEs support programme with a
view to expanding the scheme. (State Bodies Group, DES)
Review the operations of Micro?nance Ireland with a view to enhancing its positive in?uence
on the micro?nance environment. (Micro?nance Ireland, DJEI)
Remove the obstacles that prevent the Credit Review Of?ce (CRO) from reviewing bank
refusals to establish better approaches by both borrowers and lenders and to ensure
bankable projects have a fair opportunity for funding. (D/Finance, CRO)
Promote the Loan Guarantee Scheme as an option for innovative startups. (DJEI, EI, LEOs)
Undertake a rolling review of new and innovative sources of funding for entrepreneurs,
including crowdfunding etc. (State Bodies Group – D/Finance & DJEI)
Maximise the drawdown of funding instruments under COSME and Creative Europe. (DJEI,
EI, EEN Ireland, D/AHG)
Launch six Competitive Start Funds in 2014, including schemes targeted speci?cally towards
female entrepreneurs, the aviation and manufacturing sectors and, for the ?rst time, towards
graduates. (EI)
Build on the success of the Competitive Feasibility Funds and launch three regionally targeted
Competitive Feasibility Funds (Cork, South East and Midlands) and roll out Competitive
Regional Feasibility funds to the agri-food sector. (EI)
Attract more angel and international venture capital investors and continue to develop the
domestic venture capital sector
Double the volume of angel funding over the next ?ve years through such actions as
reforming the Employment Investment Incentive. (DJEI, Intertrade Ireland, BICs)
EI and the NPRF (ISIF) will continue to manage the Innovation Fund Ireland programme to
support investment by international VCs in Irish companies and companies with a signi?cant
presence in Ireland. (EI, NPRF)
EI will issue a second call for expressions of interest under the Seed and Venture Capital
Scheme 2013-2018. (EI)
Ensure that the banks develop the skills and focus necessary to deliver appropriate
?nancial instruments to startups and early stage entrepreneurs
The Strategic Banking Corporation Ireland will make over €800 million available to SMEs
in the ?rst phase of its’ operations, using funds from the German bank KfW, the European
Investment Bank and the Irish Strategic Investment Fund. (SBCI, D/Finance)
Drawing on international good practice, the Department of Finance will continue to work with
banks to improve their internal review mechanisms and enhance the quality of feedback to
SMEs on credit application decisions. (D/Finance)
Raise the awareness of enterprises about their rights to obtain feedback from banks and
develop an agreed approach to providing this information. (D/Finance)
National Policy Statement on Entrepreneurship in Ireland 43
The
Entrepreneurship
Forum stressed
the importance
of encouraging
entrepreneurs to
create their own
networks to help
sustain startups
5
The Entrepreneurship Forum stressed the importance of
encouraging entrepreneurs to create their own networks
to help sustain startups. The Forum members advocated
a strong emphasis on collaborative peer mentoring,
entrepreneurial networks, investor-backed accelerators
and the evolution of new co-working spaces. They said
entrepreneurs should be challenged to establish such
networks with support from the State.
The Irish business mentoring ecosystem is highly diverse
with a wide variety of providers when compared to other
countries. It is largely State-funded and provided through
State agencies. While most mentoring is broadly based,
many approaches are tailored to meet sector speci?c
needs.
Mentoring ranges from ‘light touch’ standalone mentoring,
such as Vodafone’s Speed Mentoring initiative, to more
intensive and structured approaches. These include
mentoring which takes place over a de?ned period of time and with de?ned objectives (e.g.
Enterprise Ireland, County Enterprise Boards), mentoring to support entrepreneurs in advance of
seeking angel investment (eg. StartupBootcamp Dublin) and mentoring as a core component of
intensive management development programmes (e.g. Bord Bia, Management Works Skillnet,
CEB Accelerate Programme)
10
.
To further facilitate the development of mentoring for SMEs and start ups, the DJEI will develop
a simple open database to attract new mentors. A working group will implement changes to
broaden its scope (particularly including mentoring to help enterprises scale), to professionalise
its delivery and feedback and to develop innovative approaches, including an interactive and
searchable self-service portal for ?rms considering mentoring.
5.1 Networks
Business networks play an important role in supporting growth and innovation. Value creating
networks bene?t companies by maximising peer learning and providing access to skills and
expertise.
The LEOs operate a number of standing networks. These include:
Startup entrepreneur networks
General business networks
Women in business networks
Owner-manager networks
10 Forfás Review of Business Mentoring Services, July 2014
Entrepreneurial
Networks &
Mentoring
National Policy Statement on Entrepreneurship in Ireland 44
The most common are networks focused on women in business. These address the particular
issues facing women entrepreneurs and operate mainly peer-to-peer by business owners/
managers meeting as a group to discuss issues and share information. The promotion of
successful female entrepreneurs as role models and building the con?dence of newly emerging
female entrepreneurs are two important aspects of networking.
Enterprise Ireland launched Ireland’s ?rst peer-to-peer online networking platform for female-led
companies in January 2014. The platform facilitates greater communication and connectivity to
help the network’s members exploit opportunities. EI will roll out online networks to other client
groups in coming months.
Skillnets training networks combine the bene?ts of high quality, relevant learning experiences
with those of networking by companies in the same sector or region to share knowledge, ideas
and best practice. The 60 Skillnets networks throughout the country engage with over 10,000
businesses each year. Networking events include structured training programmes and a wide
range of less formal occasions for brie?ngs, seminars and social gatherings. Ensuring that startup
businesses are aware of these networks and are encouraged to take full advantage of them is a
priority for Skillnets.
5.2 Evaluation of Mentoring in Ireland
When mentoring in Ireland was evaluated in 2013, it was found that 176 organisations were
involved reaching about 21,000 businesses at an estimated total cost of €9 million (€5.3 million
Exchequer, €1.1 million EU). The key ?ndings were:
Most mentoring in Ireland is provided at the startup stage. About 14,000 business
mentoring assignments each year are with businesses in either their pre-start or startup
phase.
The number of mentoring assignments is higher than the number of total startups each
year, indicating a signi?cant level of activity in the pre-start phase.
Existing programmes are generally effective and generate greater impact when mentoring
forms part of an overall package of supports.
About 15 per cent of businesses in Ireland appear to have bene?tted from mentoring
from more than one source, availing of different expertise as they face different business
challenges/needs.
There is a strong consensus on what good mentoring entails: a time bound programme with
agreed SMART goals, clear responsibilities for both parties, structured feedback and the
recruitment of experienced entrepreneurs with the skills necessary for mentoring. The quality
of mentoring oversight and the metrics of performance are not yet well developed. Volunteer
mentors make up less than 10% of the total of mentoring services.
The 2013 evaluation of mentoring made a number of recommendations that will be progressed
by DJEI. The objectives for developing early-stage mentoring services in Ireland are to:
Improve the service quality, consistency and professionalism of all mentor service
engagements
Increase the scope of mentoring for established companies and the provision of specialist
mentoring, particularly for micro and small enterprises
Establish metrics and develop the capability to measure the impact of business mentoring.
The key measures of success for mentoring interventions should be evidence of:
Strengthening enterprise capability at the ?rm level to deliver increased sales and jobs
Increased focus on competitiveness and productivity to deliver sustained results
Improved sustainability and resilience of Irish businesses
Increased ambition to think globally, to innovate and to internationalise.
National Policy Statement on Entrepreneurship in Ireland 45
5.3 Approach to Partnership
This Policy Statement acknowledges that no single Government Department can address the
multifaceted challenges facing startups in the 21st century. Developing solutions to address these
and to support a truly entrepreneurial Ireland requires collaboration amongst all stakeholders,
across and within the public sector, industry representative bodies, the business sector and even,
in terms of cultural change, society as a whole.
This approach also acknowledges that people in business are increasingly demonstrating their
willingness to do more, directly and indirectly, to support the startup community and to enhance
the spirit of entrepreneurship within every region in Ireland. The increasing desire and capability
of the main stakeholders to support other entrepreneurs and to act collectively presents many
opportunities and signals a new era for entrepreneurship in Ireland.
Through this Policy Statement, the Government underscores its commitment to reinvigorate
entrepreneurship and to support collaborative actions to promote a strong entrepreneurial
mind-set, which will in turn increase economic opportunity, business creation and employment.
Strengthening the linkages between the main stakeholders and supporting and identifying
mechanisms for cooperation and knowledge sharing will be a key focus of our efforts.
The Government will support the constructive evolution of collaborative approaches between the
private sector and the public sector to facilitate peer learning and knowledge sharing with the
aim of developing entrepreneurial capacity. To this end, we have identi?ed a number of speci?c
actions which can be driven by the private sector in association with industry representative
organisations.
5.3.1 Business Innovation Centres
The Irish EC-Business and Innovation Centres (EC-BICS) are specialist providers in the
Government’s portfolio of supports to Irish Industry. The BICs deploy services from the regional
capital cities (Cork, Derry, Dublin, Galway and Waterford), delivering the key enablers for job
creation in the innovative startup and early stage SME market to an EC Accredited Quality
Standard. The Irish BICs support the validation and “investor ready” business planning needs of
Irish startups. To date they have developed:
Over 150,000 square feet of networked incubation infrastructure across the country in
Derry, Donegal, Dublin, Galway, Mayo, Roscommon and Waterford.
Ireland’s National Business Angel Programme, which to date has seen 157 deals
completed with a total of €75 million invested, of which €27 million was private investment
through HBAP angels.
The private sector supported Seed and Venture Capital framework in Ireland, including the
current AIB Seed Capital Fund, managed by DublinBIC.
The BICs have found that holistic and entrepreneur-centric support systems work best, with
solutions tailored to meeting the speci?c needs of the startup. But in general terms the following
requirements need to be met:
Coaching to help validate proposals with private sector capability
Incubation and connectivity with low access thresholds
Timely and ?exible access to startup and growth capital
An investor-grade business planning support service
Low cost, timely introductions to intelligent global networks.
National Policy Statement on Entrepreneurship in Ireland 46
5.3.2 Accelerators
In response to the popularity and demand for accelerators among startups, work will also
be undertaken on developing and implementing a strategy to support the development of
commercially managed accelerators. The key challenge is to develop the regional spread of
startup activity by enhancing the startup environment outside Dublin. This will include working
with local partners to develop targeted accelerators where gaps exist to enhance the quality of
startups, with a particular focus on the regional startup ecosystem.
Founders now have much improved access to best practice through accelerators and networks
of founders (e.g. NDRC, Wayra, Propeller, Dogpatch, and Health XL) and co working spaces
such as the Digital Hub and the Guinness Enterprise Centre. Companies such as Google,
SAP, Microsoft, Facebook, Dell and IBM are emerging partners with EI in supporting startups.
Through EI, the Government funds Campus Incubation facilities at every university and Institute of
Technology. These incubators house over 350 companies and over 1,500 people.
5.3.3 Co-working Space
The Entrepreneurship Forum highlighted the importance of the availability of co-working spaces
to support entrepreneurs. It recommended the establishment of a working group to develop a
policy for the promotion of the co-working model that would use unoccupied public and NAMA-
controlled buildings, and to work with the private sector to implement a pilot programme in 2014
to roll out ?ve 10,000 square foot co-working spaces in Dublin, Cork, Galway, Limerick and
Waterford.
Following discussions with various stakeholders, there was an expressed desire not to establish
a formal government led working group around this issue in light of the competing position of
various providers and potential providers of co-working space in Ireland. Instead an informal
network which includes representatives from the private and public sectors, including NAMA has
emerged which is helping to advance the concept of co-working space.
The priority remains to explore the potential for current and potential providers of enterprise space
to participate in various national efforts aimed at promoting entrepreneurship with the aim of
further promoting the co-working space concept and business model across Ireland, and to gain
further traction with both entrepreneurs and potential providers of suitable property.
Examples of sustainable co-working need to be demonstrated. Using available private and public
locations and existing enterprise centres, incubators and Business Innovation Centres may be of
some value in this.
5.3.4 Private Sector/Representative Bodies
As the Entrepreneurship Forum has highlighted, supporting a new wave of entrepreneurs and
improving the spirit and culture of entrepreneurship in Ireland does not lie solely within the
con?nes of State support systems. Nurturing, connecting, inspiring, supporting, celebrating,
promoting and expanding the entrepreneurship eco-system requires a collaborative effort.
There are many creative and innovative ways that the business environment for entrepreneurs
could be supported by different individuals and organisations across the country to complement
State activities. Indeed, many business people, entrepreneurs, companies and organisations are
already actively engaged in initiatives which support entrepreneurship. As the Forum said in its
report:
“It is through swarms and swarms of entrepreneurial leaders and their teams that we will grow
our economy. This battle will not be led by government, by one person or by a handful of great
industrialists. This battle must be championed by many and acknowledged and supported by all.
“The most effective experience in starting and building businesses is held by practitioners, and
Ireland is blessed by having a wealth of experienced entrepreneurs who have started and run
multi-billion euro industries and innovations
11
.”
Successful entrepreneurship in the longer term positively feeds back into the ecosystem, as
seasoned entrepreneurs often become mentors, advisors, angel investors, venture capitalists,
philanthropists, award winners and public speakers that serve to support and inspire others. The
strength of the entrepreneurship ecosystem will depend on an ongoing commitment from these
‘champions’.
11 Entrepreneurship Forum Report, 2013
National Policy Statement on Entrepreneurship in Ireland 47
One such example of feeding back into the ecosystem is Of?ceHours.ie, a business-led effort
in partnership with StartupIreland to increase the current rate of volunteer mentoring in Ireland.
Of?cehours.ie is a database of experienced Irish entrepreneurs who voluntarily give their time to
advise startups. Each mentor sets a regular time aside each week in their calendar, and startups
can book through a free online calendaring tool for a “once-off” advice session. In just the ?rst few
months of establishment in 2014, 24 highly successful entrepreneurs have hosted over 50 of?ce
hours of advice sessions with startups.
The business representative bodies can also play a strong role in driving initiatives to leverage
our existing talent base of seasoned entrepreneurs to further stimulate the support networks and
mentoring of startups in Ireland and reinforce a positive culture.
Another important way for businesses to enhance a supportive culture is to sign up to the private
sector Prompt Payments Voluntary Code of Conduct, which is currently being established by the
Business Representative Bodies in Ireland, supported by the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and
Innovation. Those who opt to sign the code will pledge to pay suppliers on time, within the terms
of contract, give clear guidance to suppliers on payment procedure, and promote the adoption
of the code. The State certainly has a role to play in developing supportive tax, ?nancing, and
immigration policies, providing accessible and reliable information, and aligning existing education
and social welfare supports to be conducive to entrepreneurial development. However, the active
engagement of existing entrepreneurs and the business representative bodies is essential to forge
and sustain a dynamic and productive entrepreneurial ecosystem in Ireland.
National Policy Statement on Entrepreneurship in Ireland 48
Key Actions:
Entrepreneurial Networks & Mentoring
Improve the effect of mentoring as a tool to support entrepreneurship
Establish a Working Group to implement reforms in mentoring (DJEI), speci?cally to:
- Create a simple mentors database to which new types of mentors (volunteer entrepreneurs
or serving executives) would be attracted. (DJEI)
- Test market on a regional pilot basis the establishment of an interactive searchable portal for
mentors accessible to all enterprises. (DJEI)
- Broaden mentoring services to support the challenges of scaling and under-represented
specialist expertise (sectoral, market, technical, internationalisation etc.). (DJEI)
- Improve the consistency and quality of mentoring against smart performance metrics. (DJEI)
Increase the number of peer networks for mentoring, angel ?nance and problem solving
which sustain entrepreneurship
Develop founder and entrepreneur networks working with the alumni of programmes such as
HPSU and LEO, and private sector initiatives such as the Entrepreneur of the Year programme.
(EI, LEOs, ÚnaG)
Build world class entrepreneurial hubs and achieve greater regional spread of such hubs to
facilitate entrepreneurial leadership
Develop and implement a strategy for commercially managed accelerators to support the quality of
startups and increase the number of innovative startups. (EI)
Work with enterprise and the wider communities and public authorities to develop new sources of
co working spaces and “hotspots”. (EI, LEOs, ÚnaG)
Use competitive funds available to the LEOs to seek proposals for entrepreneurship hubs at
regional level. (LEOs)
Údarás na Gaeltachta will identify and develop a number of pre-commercialisation units for startups
moving from incubation phase to market. (ÚnaG)
Údarás na Gaeltachta will provide property solutions to enterprises at their different stages of
development and invest in the redevelopment of the existing portfolio of enterprise space to
facilitate modern infrastructure and support services to build local capacity. (ÚnaG)
Private Sector/Representative Bodies
Grassroots efforts by entrepreneurial leaders to encourage continuous activities and events that
engage entrepreneurs will help develop a strong startup ecosystem. (Entrepreneurs)
Business Representative Bodies should promote and celebrate entrepreneurship and commend
entrepreneurs who have achieved success, particularly those to whom people can relate and aspire
to emulate. (Business Representative Bodies)
Business Representative Bodies should ensure active engagement in coaching and mentoring
programmes (public and private). (Business Representative Bodies, EI, LEOs)
Existing entrepreneurs should actively engage with state agency/business representative bodies
platforms for networking, forums for exchange of expertise, entrepreneurship promotional events
etc. (Business Representative Bodies, State Agencies)
All companies should be encouraged (by state agencies and business representative bodies)
to commit to the Prompt Payments Code of Conduct to ensure responsible payment practices
across enterprise in Ireland. (Business Representative Bodies, DJEI)
Business Representative Bodies should leverage resources from the entrepreneurial community
in Ireland for the promotion of initiatives to celebrate entrepreneurs (competitions, conferences,
internships). (Business Representative Bodies)
National Policy Statement on Entrepreneurship in Ireland 49
We need to
ensure that
new companies
learn to develop
products with
global appeal
6
Access to
Markets
Ireland offers entrepreneurs a small domestic market in
one of the most open economies in the world. Trade,
tourism and investment are crucial to future prosperity.
Although the international environment remains challenging,
there is signi?cant potential to increase activity in each of
these areas.
Particular issues do need to be addressed, however, to
support this activity. One is a shortage of experienced
people with international sales and marketing experience.
Furthermore, Irish exports are concentrated in a relatively
small number of sectors of business activity (albeit these are
major sectors) and in a relatively small number of export markets.
The Review of the Government Trade, Tourism and Investment Strategy, 2010 – 2015, published
in February 2014, developed a focus on key sectors of competitive advantage for Ireland in line
with the Action Plan for Jobs. This Review provides a refocused action plan under three key
themes – reputation, facilitating & enabling and winning business and jobs.
The Winning Abroad initiative under the Action Plan for Jobs 2014 will facilitate greater
coordination of Embassies and State agencies abroad, ensuring that we maximise the impact of
State resources in priority markets, giving them and Irish companies the best possible platform to
win business overseas.
Ireland has well recognised strengths and an international reputation for excellence in a number
of sectors, including media, computer gaming, food, education and design. It is important to
build on those strengths to encourage more entrepreneurs, businesses and organisations to
invest and to promote Ireland’s talents and reputation internationally as part of our enterprise and
innovation culture.
6.1 First-time Exporters
State aid rules prevent the Government from directly supporting any export-related activities such
as sales or marketing. However, support is provided to companies that are undertaking market
research, feasibility studies or who are participating in trade fairs.
We need to ensure that new companies learn to develop products with global appeal and start
marketing them internationally very early on in the product development cycle. Since 2012
Enterprise Ireland has sought to replace general trade missions with sector speci?c missions
whenever possible. These targeted trade missions allow companies to engage in peer learning
while also facilitating targeted networking events that enable clients to develop and build
relationships with international customers.
National Policy Statement on Entrepreneurship in Ireland 50
In 2012 EI established its Potential Exporters Division (PED). This division is focused on engaging
with Irish companies that are either seeking to enter overseas markets or to grow in exports.
It supports individual client companies which are at various stages of preparing to export.
Companies engage with PED through workshops and awareness events and are supported in the
development of a market plan for their priority target market.
6.2 Clustering Programme
Enterprise Ireland’s pilot clustering programme was established in 2012 to encourage groups of
businesses to collaborate to achieve speci?c business objectives, improve competitive advantage
and create mutual ?nancial gain. Projects involved a minimum of ?ve companies working together
to undertake feasibility work and to conduct market research. There is also scope for startups and
small businesses themselves to examine the potential for joint initiatives by groups of companies
exporting to the same market to share or reduce entry costs.
6.3 Public Procurement
Access to public contracts remains a challenge, particularly for startup companies. Access to
contracts from older indigenous companies and MNCs which are established in Ireland and their
supply chains is also a challenge for younger companies.
Enterprise Ireland, Intertrade Ireland and the Of?ce of Government Procurement are working with
the SME sector to facilitate and maximise the opportunities available from the public sector. The
primary focus is to raise awareness of the innovative solutions provided by Irish companies to the
public sector in Ireland, to primary contractors and to global government organisations, such as
the EU and the United Nations. EI is also helping companies identify procurement opportunities in
overseas markets and build their capability to compete for contracts.
In many cases the lack of a ?rst reference sale is a key barrier to accessing funding at an
early stage. Public procurement can be an important source of business for companies. The
Government is focused on a drive to encourage public contracting authorities to become
more open to procuring new and innovative products. The Irish public sector also presents
market opportunities as a reference site to enable companies to tender for and secure
contracts overseas.
6.3.1 Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) in Ireland
In the Action Plan for Jobs 2013, the Government committed to assessing the feasibility of
introducing a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) type programme across Government
to develop the concept of ‘Ireland as a Test-Bed’. The SBIR programme is a two stage pre-
commercial procurement scheme aimed at procuring the development of products and services
to address public sector challenges and needs in a market where there is not a ready-made
appropriate solution available. The purpose of the SBIR programme is to offer an opportunity
for businesses, particularly early-stage companies, to develop and demonstrate technology,
supported by a Government entity which acts as a key reference customer.
Operating under EU procurement rules, SBIR programmes provide a funding stream to facilitate
the engagement of industry with the public sector, and in doing so, acts as a driver of innovation.
SBIR programmes have the double aim of increasing the innovation capabilities and capacity of
the enterprise sector, in particular that of SMEs, while at the same time providing the public sector
with new, cost effective solutions, developed in a risk free environment, to meet their needs. From
the perspective of ?rms, SBIR programmes allow the development and piloting of new products
and services. It gives ?rms, especially early stage companies, valuable reference sites with major
government customers which in many cases can be leveraged to enter international markets.
The Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI), in co-operation with Enterprise Ireland and
ESB, launched Ireland’s ?rst Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) competition on 30th
June 2014. The competition’s ?rst target is smart solutions for charging Electric Vehicles (EVs)
in communal parking areas such as apartment blocks for which up to €200,000 will be made
available to develop the prototype.
National Policy Statement on Entrepreneurship in Ireland 51
Any proposed solution should be adaptable to cater for underground, multi-storey or other
privately run car park developments where EV owners will require access to charging facilities.
ESB is currently installing home charge points in private driveways for EV owners. However,
challenges have arisen where EV owners live in apartment dwellings with parking spaces remote
from the meter point. This SBIR competition aims to develop an innovative solution in this area.
The competition will be run in two phases. Phase one opened on 30th June 2014, and up to
four feasibility studies and contracts will be awarded in quarter 4 of 2014 (with a budget of
€25,000 each). Successful applicants will be asked to provide a robust, evidence based case
for the viability of their proposed solution (for example a desk based feasibility study with some
supporting practical work/data). In phase two, up to two successful studies (with a proposed
budget of €100,000 to €200,000) will be invited to participate in a prototype demonstration in
Spring 2015 with monitoring to take place over a 6-12 month period.
6.4 Private Sector support
Established companies can play a key role in the support of early stage companies’ access to
markets. There is a role for larger companies to help small ?rms secure contracts directly with
them or within their supply chain. Established companies can also provide early stage companies
with access to distribution channels, which can help startups leverage such channels for market
validation and endorsement.
Tesco Ireland’s programme with Bord Bia, for example, supports the agri-food sector by ensuring
that more Irish products reach shelves in both the domestic and overseas markets. Participating
companies receive tailored support and guidance to help them secure, grow and maintain a listing
with Tesco stores in Ireland and overseas. Since its 2012 launch, 33 companies have completed
the programme, achieving €16 million worth of sales to Tesco stores, of which over a quarter was
generated from purchases by UK stores.
6.5 Global Sourcing Project
The Global Sourcing project has been a major area of focus for the EI-IDA senior management
teams since its establishment in early 2012. In addressing the objectives of the Action Plan for
Jobs, the team has guided an in-depth strategic assessment of the opportunities presented
by global sourcing, and the development of a joint agency strategy to outline the core actions
required by EI and IDA to advance this agenda.
This joint strategy identi?ed the key sectors which can be addressed, while the ongoing
engagement of EI and IDA with clients is helping to identify those companies with procurement
models which represent the most addressable opportunities in the short to medium term and
those companies with the supply capability suf?cient to meet these needs. The ultimate objective
is to focus on the routes to market which have the best chance of converting to sales (and
therefore increased employment) in the least amount of time.
The Global Sourcing project is intended to help build a pipeline of opportunities for EI client
companies to sell into MNCs in Ireland and, based on potential, scale and suitability, sales to the
global supply chain of these MNCs. Over time, this increase in sales will have a positive effect
on the sustainment and growth of employment in Irish companies. Additional bene?ts are likely
to arise in the form of increased innovation between procurers and suppliers, while increased
integration of Irish companies into the MNC base may further embed foreign direct investment
in Ireland.
EI and IDA Ireland will continue to explore ways of encouraging the further engagement of
established companies in support of ?edgling businesses’ access to markets.
National Policy Statement on Entrepreneurship in Ireland 52
6.6 Online Trading
It is important that entrepreneurs take full advantage of the ef?ciencies and advantages afforded
by the digital economy. Some sectors, such as travel, accommodation, electronic goods and
services, have already been transformed by digital trading. However, other sectors have been
slower to adapt to the revolution being brought about by online consumption.
Only 23% of small Irish companies are engaged in e-commerce sales, implying that many others
may be missing important opportunities for increased competitiveness, growth and jobs. Startup
and smaller businesses operating in the domestic economy need to be encouraged to access a
wider market, both domestically and internationally, through online trading.
Taken together, the National Broadband Plan and the National Digital Strategy will assist and
incentivise greater use of online trading to access global web-based markets.
Trading online is a key initiative within the National Digital Strategy. A set of integrated actions has
been identi?ed to encourage Irish based small businesses to become active on-line in 2014 and
2015. A target of 2,000 micro and small businesses will be supported to develop their business
by trading online over this two year period. It is expected that an additional 3,200 jobs will result
from this programme.
The scheme was launched nationally in July 2014 and is being rolled out through the
Local Enterprise Of?ces, who have been supported by industry in the development of the
programme. It is expected that 1,000 companies will be supported in 2014.
6.7 North/South
InterTradeIreland provides three trade generation programmes focused on supporting companies
to access markets across the island of Ireland: Elevate Acumen and Go-2-Tender.
Elevate is focused on helping established micro enterprises take their ?rst steps in
exporting and exploring opportunities in a new cross-border market.
Acumen is designed to stimulate cross-border business for small and medium enterprises
that already have a proven track record in their home market.
Go-2-Tender provides businesses with the con?dence, knowledge and skills to tender
successfully for public sector contracts.
In addition to these, all companies, including startups, are helped to access markets through the
Trade Accelerator Voucher scheme. This voucher can be redeemed against the cost of practical
advice provided by participating expert providers in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland
to a company considering trading across the island.
National Policy Statement on Entrepreneurship in Ireland 53
Key Actions:
Access to Markets
Encourage local and national private enterprises to make a commitment to provide
market opportunities for ?edgling businesses
Promote the expansion of programmes through which retailers and other enterprises
can provide support to new businesses (e.g. to reach supply standards and access
exposure or shelf space. (Business Representative Bodies, EI, NSAI)
Develop global and local sourcing initiatives, particularly within clusters and continue to
work to attract international buyers to Ireland to source Irish goods and services. (EI,
IDA)
EI and IDA Ireland will explore and facilitate innovative ways for established indigenous
and foreign enterprises to collaborate in support of early stage companies in various
sectors. (EI, IDA)
Encourage local and national authorities to make a commitment to provide market
opportunities for ?edgling businesses
Encourage local authorities to support startups by providing display space, promotional
events and procurement opportunities. (DJEI, EI, LEOs)
A pilot Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) programme will be introduced in
2014 which will provide opportunities for innovative solutions to be developed to meet
the needs of public bodies. (EI)
Examine practical ways of highlighting the merits of the public procurement of
innovative products and services. (EI, OGP)
Ensure startups are export oriented in their thinking early in their development
Develop a pipeline of enterprises to enter the Potential Exporters Programme. (EI)
Promote a major expansion of online trading from the early stage of an enterprises life.
(DCENR, DJEI)
Roll out the Trading Online initiative nationally to support 2,000 companies over 2014
and 2015. (DCENR)
Develop an industry-led awareness campaign to promote the development of online
trading capability by small businesses. (Business Representative Bodies, DCENR)
National Policy Statement on Entrepreneurship in Ireland 54
National Policy Statement on Entrepreneurship in Ireland 55
Implementation
& Monitoring
Progress
Entrepreneurship has been identi?ed as a key ‘disruptive reform’ under the Action Plan for Jobs
2014. These reforms are high-impact measures with highly ambitious deadlines implemented
in partnership with senior industry partners and selected because of their potential to have a
signi?cant effect on job creation.
It is vital that action is taken to optimise the role of entrepreneurship as an essential source
of wealth creation and employment, thereby positioning it as a key element in the economic
growth agenda. This Policy Statement has set out the core objectives and signposts in order to
achieve our ambition for Ireland to be among the most entrepreneurial nations in the world and
acknowledged as a world-class environment in which to start and grow a business.
To drive this process an Implementation Group will be established, chaired by Department of
Jobs, Enterprise & Innovation, with membership drawn from the enterprise agencies and the
key collaborative departments (Department of Education & Skills, Department of Finance etc.).
This Group will have formal, structured engagement with industry partners and the National
Competitiveness Council. It will meet quarterly, with sub-groups exploring certain issues or
delivery as required.
The Group will report annually to the Cabinet Committee on Economic Recovery and Jobs.
Tracking Action Delivery
Considerable work has been undertaken in recent years to support entrepreneurs and startups
and the actions identi?ed in this Statement will strengthen existing supports. In view of the
signi?cant inputs of ?nancial and human resources from the State to support entrepreneurship,
it is essential that the progress and effect of these actions be regularly monitored and evaluated.
The National Competitiveness Council will support the Department of Jobs, Enterprise &
Innovation in tracking the various indicators that taken together de?ne the competitive position of
the national system of entrepreneurship in Ireland.
To this end, a number of different performance indicators have been identi?ed across the system.
The data for these indicators will by collated by DJEI in collaboration with the relevant agencies.
The attached tables of indicators are not exhaustive and will be supplemented as work is
undertaken on each objective area.
Benchmarking/Measuring Entrepreneurship
A comprehensive pro?le analysis of the national entrepreneurship ecosystem in Ireland will assess
current national performance against international comparators. This assessment will identify the
most relevant indicators and data for Ireland compiled across international benchmarks.
Many of the performance indicators listed below focus on output. The benchmarking exercise
will identify all relevant indicators that assess the quality and quantity of entrepreneurial supports
available in Ireland. We can then use this information to address the cultural, economic, and
institutional barriers that hinder progress.
National Policy Statement on Entrepreneurship in Ireland 56
Performance Indicators
General Business Indicators
Metric Source Baseline - 2013 Output - 2014
Number of Startups CSO 12,551 (year 2012)
Number of Business Deaths CSO 18,076 (year 2011)
Number of Incorporations CRO 15,506
Number of Liquidations initiated CRO 1,967
Survival Rates for enterprise at 5 years CSO 48.4%
The performance indicators identi?ed above are not exhaustive (for example the data on startups
and business deaths should be broken down by sector). Further indicators will be added from
international benchmarks such as the Global Entrepreneurship & Development Index (GEDI).
Culture, Human Capital & Education
The Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) provides an annual assessment of the entrepreneurial
activity, aspirations and attitudes of individuals across a wide range of countries, including Ireland.
GEM measures the involvement of individuals in entrepreneurial activity through a number of
stages, from aspiring entrepreneurs to nascent entrepreneurs and new business owners.
Participation rates of traditionally under-represented cohorts in programmes will be monitored.
Participation and progression rates in entrepreneurship modules in HEIs will be tracked to ensure
best practice and to support the expansion of successful programmes.
Performance Indicators
Culture, Human Capital & Education
Metric Source Baseline - 2013 Output - 2014
CULTURE
Aspirational Entrepreneurs GEM 14.7%
Nascent Entrepreneurs GEM 5.5%
Total Early Stage Entrepreneurial Activity GEM 9.2%
Public Attitude to Entrepreneurship GEM 50%
Participation rates in competitions/awards
Student Enterprise Awards applications from
third level institutions
Agencies
EI 400
Participation in LEO Best Young Entrepreneur LEO N/A
Participation in LEO Student Enterprise
- Number of schools
- Number of students
LEO
780
29,359
% of Females attending Core Training
Programmes
LEO 57%
HUMAN CAPITAL & EDUCATION
Numbers in Entrepreneurship Modules
across HEIs
DES
Unavailable at date
of publication
Performance across STEM DES
Unavailable at date
of publication
National Policy Statement on Entrepreneurship in Ireland 57
Business Environment & Supports
A wide range of framework conditions and policies can affect entrepreneurship, ranging from
tax rates and incentives, regulation, legislation, immigration, infrastructure and State-funded
enterprise supports. It is essential that the performances of these framework conditions,
incentives and supports are measured.
Ireland has developed an extensive range of supports for startups involving a direct spend of
over €100 million a year. Performance indicators will be developed to benchmark progress,
to compare best practice at home and abroad and to set stretch targets. These indicators will
include:
Performance Indicators
Business Environment & Supports
Metric Source Baseline - 2013 Output - 2014
BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT
Ease of Doing Business World Bank 10
EII Scheme Activity Revenue
Unavailable at
date of publication
SCS Scheme Activity Revenue
Unavailable at
date of publication
SUPPORTS - ENTERPRISE IRELAND
Participation in EI Entrepreneur Programmes EI 485
Number of HPSUs and Startups EI 189
% of HPSUs reaching €1m revenue
National Policy Statement On Entrepreneurship In Ireland 2014
Department of Jobs, Enterprise, and Innovation
23 Kildare St.
Dublin 2
Tel: +353 1 6312121
www.enterprise.gov.ie
www.djei.ie
N
A
T
I
O
N
A
L
P
O
L
I
C
Y
S
T
A
T
E
M
E
N
T
O
N
E
N
T
R
E
P
R
E
N
E
U
R
S
H
I
P
I
N
I
R
E
L
A
N
D
2
0
1
4
National Policy Statement on Entrepreneurship in Ireland 1
Entrepreneurship
in Ireland
National Policy Statement on
2014
National Policy Statement on Entrepreneurship in Ireland 2
Foreword by An Taoiseach, Enda Kenny TD 4
Foreword by the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Richard Bruton TD 5
Introduction – Vision for Ireland 6
Entrepreneurship Environment – Key Elements 8
Strategic Objectives 12
Entrepreneurship in Ireland 14
Measuring Irish Entrepreneurship – International Benchmarks 15
Entrepreneurship Index 16
GEDI – 2014 16
Basic characteristics – Ireland 17
National System of Entrepreneurship 18
Key Actions: Benchmarking/Measuring Entrepreneurship in Ireland 19
1. Culture, Human Capital & Education 20
1.1 Culture 20
1.2 Human Capital 20
1.3 Education 22
Key Actions: Culture, Human Capital & Education 23
2. Business Environment & Supports 24
2.1 Taxation 26
2.1.1 Startup Company Relief 26
2.1.2 Start Your Own Business 26
2.1.3 Share Based Remuneration in Private Companies 27
2.1.4 Seed Capital Scheme & Employment and Investment Incentive 27
2.1.5 Capital Gains Tax 27
2.2 Business Registration 27
2.3 Reducing Administrative Burdens 28
2.4 Supports 28
2.5 Local Enterprise Of?ces (LEOs) 30
2.6 North/South 30
Key Actions: Business Environment & Supports 32
3. Innovation 34
3.1 Innovation Supports 34
3.2 High Potential Startups 35
3.3 Innovation in Services & Business Processes 35
3.4 Science, Technology & Innovation 36
3.5 Horizon 2020 36
3.6 Intellectual Property – Contractual Issues 36
3.7 Increasing Inward Entrepreneurship 37
Key Actions: Innovation 38
Contents
National Policy Statement on Entrepreneurship in Ireland 3
4. Access to Finance 40
4.1 Access to bank lending 40
4.2 Alternative and innovative sources of ?nancing 41
4.3 Micro?nance Ireland & Credit Guarantee Scheme 41
4.4 Venture Capital 41
4.5 Access to Finance – Priorities under the APJ 42
4.6 EU Initiatives 42
Key Actions: Access to Finance 43
5. Entrepreneurial Networks & Mentoring 44
5.1 Networks 44
5.2 Evaluation of Mentoring in Ireland 45
5.3 Approach to Partnership 46
Key Actions: Entrepreneurial Networks & Mentoring 49
6. Access to Markets 50
6.1 First-time Exporters 50
6.2 Clustering Programme 51
6.3 Public Procurement 51
6.4 Private Sector support 52
6.5 Global Sourcing Project 52
6.6 Online Trading 53
6.7 North/South 53
Key Actions: Access to Markets 54
Implementation & Monitoring Progress 55
Tracking Action Delivery 55
Benchmarking/Measuring Entrepreneurship 55
Culture, Human Capital & Education 56
Business Environment & Supports 57
Innovation 58
Access to Finance 59
Entrepreneurial Networks & Mentoring 60
Access to Markets 60
APPENDICES 61
Appendix 1 - Enterprise Ireland Entrepreneurship Supports 62
Appendix 2 - Local Enterprise Of?ces Entrepreneurship Supports 65
Appendix 3 - Global Entrepreneurship Development Index Structure 67
National Policy Statement on Entrepreneurship in Ireland 4
As we move into a period of economic growth following one of the darkest periods in the
history of the State, entrepreneurship has never been more important to the country, its people
and its future.
Home-grown business ideas that display innovation and creativity will enable us to grow
jobs, challenge for market share and demonstrate our capability to adapt in an ever more
challenging global economic climate. We have to depend on our entrepreneurs to provide
innovative products, processes and knowledge based solutions that will enable us to preserve
our hard earned progress, build our international reputation, improve our living standards and
our employment creation.
This Government will continue to concentrate efforts on employment retention and creation,
and a reinvigoration of entrepreneurial spirit will play a strong role in driving this agenda.
Entrepreneurial initiatives, mind-sets and skills have been fostered in all areas of the economy,
and played no small part in building our economic recovery.
This policy statement clearly identi?es the actions we need to take to consolidate our
achievements over the last three years. It is not, however, a look backwards. It is a forward
looking document with a clear list of actions that can and will be delivered to ensure we are
seen as among the most entrepreneurial nations in the world and acknowledged as a world
class environment in which to start and grow a business.
The Statement is the fruit of an amount of collaborative work undertaken by academia,
practitioners, agencies, individual citizens and government Ministers and Departments and I
would like to publicly thank all concerned for their input in this work.
The challenge is now to deliver and I am sure that under the direction of my colleague Richard
Bruton TD Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation this segment of economic activity will
continue to make a signi?cant contribution to our wellbeing in the future.
Enda Kenny TD
Taoiseach
September 2014
Foreword by An Taoiseach,
Enda Kenny TD
National Policy Statement on Entrepreneurship in Ireland 5
To build on the recovery we have started to see recently, Ireland needs more entrepreneurs
starting high quality new businesses that will develop innovative products, conquer new markets
and create more jobs. In the Action Plan for Jobs 2014, we placed a strong emphasis on
entrepreneurship. We set out our ambition for Ireland to be among the most entrepreneurial
nations in the world and acknowledged as a world class environment in which to start and grow
a business. Growing the number of successful entrepreneurs and startups is, and will continue to
be, hugely important for Ireland’s economic development and wellbeing.
This Policy Statement is key to delivering on that ambition. Building on the work done by Sean
O’Sullivan and the Entrepreneurship Forum, this Policy Statement presents the six overarching
elements I believe are essential drivers of entrepreneurial success. Crucially, it also sets out
the approach that we are taking across Government to improve them. There has been wide
stakeholder engagement over the last two years to support the development of this Policy
Statement through public consultation, the work of the Entrepreneurship Forum and direct
contact with academics and entrepreneurs.
The Statement details some of the immediate key actions which we will take to support our
ambition and con?rms our commitment to continue to identify new approaches which will
enhance and strengthen the entrepreneurial ecosystem and ultimately create jobs.
Essentially, the objectives are centred around three distinct aims:
1. Building the pipeline - Increase the numbers of entrepreneurs, who will actively engage in
creating high quality business startups and jobs across the country;
2. Building entrepreneurial capability - Develop entrepreneurial skills among the general
population and nurture entrepreneurial thinking and talent, and;
3. Building the right conditions - Ensure survival and growth of entrepreneurial startups.
The actions set out in the Policy Statement will be delivered and overseen through the Action
Plan for Jobs process and the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation (DJEI) will monitor
progress against key performance indicators to ensure delivery.
Our challenge now is to ensure that entrepreneurs of all backgrounds and all ages are
encouraged and supported in their efforts to establish high quality businesses that are sustainable
and can compete with the best in the world both on home and export markets. That is the only
basis on which they can grow and create much needed employment. Previously I have said that
Ireland is a country with great entrepreneurs but that we just don’t have enough of them. This
Policy Statement will help ensure that as well as having great entrepreneurs Ireland becomes a
country with a great number of entrepreneurs.
Richard Bruton
Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation
September 2014
Foreword by the Minister for
Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation,
Richard Bruton TD
National Policy Statement on Entrepreneurship in Ireland 6
Entrepreneurship
1
is a key element in the health and wellbeing of any thriving economy and will
be central to Ireland’s continuing recovery. Historically, two thirds of new jobs in Ireland have been
created by companies in their ?rst ?ve years
2
. This is because new businesses drive change and
are the source of creative ideas and new technologies. They are the quickest to adapt to new
opportunities and to the shifts that disrupt markets and business models.
The purpose of this policy statement is to clearly identify the framework needed to make Ireland
one of the most entrepreneurial nations in the world, acknowledged as a world-class environment
in which to start and grow a business. Embracing and implementing the approach set out in
this statement will result in Ireland having excellent support networks at local and national level
and strong policy frameworks within which businesses can be born and ?ourish. Ireland, in turn,
will gain a global reputation as a location for smart capital and as an entrepreneurial hub. It will
become recognised as a place where good ideas can be transformed into excellent businesses
and new jobs will be created as international investors and mobile entrepreneurs seek Ireland out
as a location of choice.
Ireland can double the jobs impact of startups on our economy if we:
1. Increase the number of startups by 25%
(3,000 more startups per annum)
2. Increase the survival rate in the ?rst ?ve years
by 25% (1,800 more survivors per annum)
3. Improve the capacity of startups to grow to
scale by 25%.
This is a challenging but realistic ambition for the next ?ve years.
The Entrepreneurship Forum, established by the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation
in May 2013 to examine the ecosystem from the perspective of entrepreneurs and to make
recommendations to support entrepreneurship, has described what a strong startup community
in Ireland could look like. It emphasises that the creation of a strong start up ecosystem requires
entrepreneurial leadership at a grassroots level, with continuous activities and events designed
to engage entrepreneurs. The Entrepreneurship Forum has highlighted some excellent examples
of this. Activate Dublin, Startup Ireland, Startupweekend, Bizworld, Startups.ie, IT@Cork and
Smallbusinessadvice.ie all involve citizens and entrepreneurs working together to create an
environment in which startups can truly thrive.
1 De?ned as an individual’s creative capacity to identify an opportunity and pursue it in order to produce new value or
economic success.
2 Research published by the Central Bank of Ireland in 2013 concludes that 67% of new job creation comes from
companies within their ?rst ?ve years. Research from the Kaufmann Institute in the United States also indicates that
new and young businesses are the primary drivers of net job creation.
Introduction -
Vision for Ireland
National Policy Statement on Entrepreneurship in Ireland 7
The Entrepreneurship Forum has also urged that existing entrepreneurs and industry leaders
should help drive the entrepreneurship agenda through mentoring, networking, electronic
interaction and dissemination of information. It has argued that Ireland must leverage its existing
talent base and entrepreneurial networks if it really wants to promote and stimulate a strong
culture of high quality entrepreneurship. Private sector engagement must be the driver and
catalyst for entrepreneurial excellence, building on existing frameworks and initiatives.
In its report, however, the Entrepreneurship Forum is emphatic that the Government’s role in this
should be one of facilitation, not leadership. Government should primarily focus on removing
obstacles, implementing required solutions and maintaining a business environment that is ?t for
purpose. The Entrepreneurship Forum has noted that the Government has a key role to play in
facilitating a supportive policy framework conducive to entrepreneurial success. A wide range of
public support programmes are already available to entrepreneurs and startups in Ireland
3
. What
is needed now, the Entrepreneurship Forum has suggested, is an overall vision of how the State
can best support the startup community.
This Policy statement sets out the Government’s strategic objectives in its role as a facilitator
within the Irish entrepreneurship ecosystem, covering all the key areas that affect entrepreneurs
and startups. It also signposts the focus of public policy in the coming years. A clear programme
of speci?c actions for each year, delivered through the Government’s Action Plan for Jobs, will
ensure delivery of these strategic objectives. The Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation
(DJEI) will carefully monitor progress against key performance indicators and work with its
partners in enterprise to achieve this ambition.
3 ‘Entrepreneurship in Ireland - Strengthening the Startup Community’, 2014,http://www.djei.ie/enterprise/smes/
EntrepreneurshipForumReport2014.pdf
National Policy Statement on Entrepreneurship in Ireland 8
Entrepreneurship Environment – Key Elements
Entrepreneurship requires a range of skills and attitudes, aspirations, activities, supports and
networks. To achieve the ambition set out in this Entrepreneurship Policy Statement, we must
benchmark ourselves against the best in each area and promote improvement across the system.
This Entrepreneurship Statement sets out how this can be done. It will require working across
Government Departments. But more than this, it will involve challenging and encouraging others
to engage and become actively involved. As the Entrepreneurship Forum highlighted, Government
alone cannot develop the many varied intertwining elements that are necessary for success. Many
different parts of our society will have a role to play in this initiative.
The key elements that make up an ecosystem for entrepreneurship in Ireland are
4
:
1. Culture, human capital and education
2. Business environment and supports
3. Innovation
4. Access to ?nance
5. Entrepreneurial networks and mentoring
6. Access to markets
4 Following consideration of the various models from the OECD, World Economic Forum, Babson College, Massachusetts
and the Report of the Entrepreneurship Forum.
National Policy Statement on Entrepreneurship in Ireland 9
Ecosystem for
Entrepreneurship
6
Access to
markets
2
3
4
5
Business
environment and
supports
Innovation
Access to
finance
Entrepreneurial
networks and
mentoring
1
Culture, human
capital and
education
National Policy Statement on Entrepreneurship in Ireland 10
For the entrepreneurship environment to be truly effective, these elements must be mutually
reinforcing, forming a coherent whole and supporting entrepreneurs throughout the
entrepreneurship lifecycle. Looking at the broader picture, the ?rst in?uence on the lifecycle of an
entrepreneur is the attitude of society towards enterprise and the cultural values and emphasis
on entrepreneurship in the education system. Society’s culture and attitude directly in?uences
the individual’s capacity for creative thinking and attitude to risk. The business environment
has a similar role, affecting both the obstacles the entrepreneur may encounter and the rewards
they hope to achieve. Taxation, business regulation and the dif?culties encountered in starting
a business and in exiting, should it fail to achieve its anticipated progression, also in?uence the
decisions of both established and potential entrepreneurs.
The quality of supports available from public institutions is also a critical factor in whether potential
entrepreneurs will proceed and is an in?uence on the potential outcomes if they do. Public bodies
can provide ?nancial support in the dif?cult startup phase and offer advice and expertise to avoid
pitfalls. For many high potential entrepreneurs the accessibility of the innovation system to help
drive forward ?edgling ideas is crucial.
Often the need for access to ?nance goes well beyond the capacities of those involved in a
startup. For some entrepreneurs this may be because unemployment or debt has drained their
resources or negatively affected their credit ratings. For others, potential funding institutions may
be risk averse. That is why the provision of a broad spectrum of ?nance options, matching the
different stages of an enterprise’s development, is essential.
However, the role and in?uence of the State should not be over emphasised. The support
networks formed between entrepreneurs and between entrepreneurs and investors can be
equally important, arguably even more important, sources of essential support for startups.
Business networks, angels, mentors, entrepreneurship hubs and hotspots all provide sources
of practical experience and advice, contacts and interaction, helping entrepreneurs to avoid or
overcome dif?culties and to realise their potential.
Finally, young companies need access to markets, to clients and customers, to suppliers and
distribution channels. Identifying potential customers in both the public and private sectors at an
early stage is crucial to strengthening and building out the sales footprint. First time exporters also
need support to develop the skills and resources they need to compete in global markets and to
achieve ambitious revenue targets along the way.
National Policy Statement on Entrepreneurship in Ireland 11
Key performance indicators and actions have been identi?ed for each of the strategic
objectives and these will be reviewed and further developed as part of a process of
continuous improvement, working with all the potential participants and in?uencers in the
public and private sectors and the broader society.
Crucially, this Entrepreneurship Policy Statement is designed to translate our ambition in the
area of entrepreneurship into a clear direction for policy in future years.
Ecosystem for
Entrepreneurship
6
Access to
markets
2
3
4
5
Business
environment and
supports
Innovation
Access to
finance
Entrepreneurial
networks and
mentoring
1
Culture, human
capital and
education
Strategic Objectives
This Entrepreneurship Policy Statement sets out a number of strategic
objectives that are based on a careful evaluation of Ireland’s existing
position and an assessment of international best practice. They address
each of the elements that make up the framework for entrepreneurs and
are speci?cally designed to help them grow and ?ourish.
National Policy Statement on Entrepreneurship in Ireland 12
1 Culture, Human Capital and Education
Make entrepreneurship an integral part of our ambition as a nation. Support its development
in our education system, in our communities and in corporate behaviour.
Celebrate and reward successful entrepreneurs.
Ensure that greater numbers of people, particularly in underrepresented cohorts such as
females, youths, migrants and older persons start and run their own business.
Improve the quality and range of ICT professionals domestically to make Ireland a hub for
technology startups.
2 Business Environment and Supports
Create a business environment in Ireland where it is easy to start up and grow a new
business in terms of Company Law; Tax; Regulation; Licensing and where it is one of the
most attractive environments in Europe.
Promote best in class standards across the network of Enterprise Ireland and Local
Enterprise Of?ces which fully exploit the enterprise assets of their community and foster
new thinking in the enterprise area.
Stimulate and support high levels of quality entrepreneurial ventures with high growth,
export, wealth and job creation potential.
3 Innovation
Make Ireland a location of choice for high quality international startups.
Develop the best infrastructure to support technology transfer into commercialisation
as a new business opportunity (Knowledge Transfer Ireland; Campus Incubators;
Commercialisation Fund; Technology Centres).
Develop a support framework where innovative startups can reach their full potential.
Strategic Objectives
National Policy Statement on Entrepreneurship in Ireland 13
4 Access to Finance
Expand the range of access to ?nance instruments to match our ambition as a startup hub
so that all viable businesses have the opportunity to access suf?cient ?nance to meet their
needs.
Attract more angel and international venture capital investors and continue to develop the
domestic venture capital sector.
Ensure that the banks develop the skills and focus necessary to deliver appropriate
?nancial instruments to startups and early stage entrepreneurs.
5 Entrepreneurial Networks and Mentoring
Improve the impact of mentoring as a tool to support entrepreneurship.
Increase the levels of peer networks for mentoring, angel ?nance and problem solving that
sustain entrepreneurship.
Build world class entrepreneurial hubs and achieve greater regional spread of such hubs,
facilitating entrepreneurial leadership.
6 Access to Markets
Encourage local and national private enterprises to commit to offer opportunities for
?edgling businesses to ?nd a market.
Encourage public local and national authorities to commit to offer opportunities for
?edgling businesses to ?nd a market.
Ensure startups have clearly identi?ed customer/market segments and clearly developed
value propositions and where appropriate are export oriented in their thinking early in
their development.
National Policy Statement on Entrepreneurship in Ireland 14
CSO data indicates that in 2011 there were almost 190,000 trading enterprises in Ireland. In
the same year there were fewer than 12,000 startups. Dominated by microenterprises, over
90% of all startups were in the services, distribution and construction sectors. In 2011 startups
represented a little over 5% of the existing population in construction and distribution but in
services and ?nancial services the startup rate was just over 7%.
4
Startups 2011 Number % of Existing Enterprises in Sector
Industry 725 5.2
Construction 1,976 5.3
Distribution 2,335 5.4
Services 6,429 7.1
Finance & Tourism 372 6.8
Total 11,847 6.2
Source: CSO Business Demography 2011
Enterprise startup activity was severely dampened by the recession. According to the CSO,
enterprise births fell by a third between 2006 and 2010, from 16,700 in 2006 new enterprises to
11,200 in 2010. The attrition rate over this ?ve year period was high. Of those started in 2006,
only 51% survived ?ve years. Enterprises starting business after 2006 have experienced even
poorer survival rates at each yearly milestone. Of the 13,461 enterprises birthed in 2007, just
6,513 or 48.4% survived to 2012
5
. Not surprisingly, construction has experienced the greatest fall
off in startups and the greatest attrition rates.
Despite the economic dif?culties, enterprises that had started in the ?ve years up to 2011
employed 93,000 people by 2011. This was a substantial employment gain over a period in
which longer established enterprises had shed 400,000 jobs. Even in that very dif?cult time for
enterprise, therefore, startups were a dynamic source of opportunity and drivers of economic
revival.
The Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM), which provides useful international comparative
information on entrepreneurship, re?ects the dif?culties for entrepreneurship which Ireland has
experienced in recent years. The GEM measure of total early-stage entrepreneurial activity
6
(TEA)
peaked at 9.8% in 2005 but had fallen back to 6.1% by 2012. Over this period Ireland fell from
midway in the European TEA League table to close to bottom. There was, however, a signi?cant
recovery in 2013, when the TEA rate in Ireland rose to 9.2% – the highest level since 2005. Ireland
was ranked second across the EU-15 and ninth across the EU-28 for TEA by GEM in its 2013
report. This means that almost one in 11 of the adult population in Ireland had started or is in the
process of starting a new business within the preceding 42 months. The 2013 GEM report also
revealed a signi?cant improvement in attitudes towards entrepreneurship. It showed that 50% of
Irish adults considered entrepreneurship to be a good career choice, compared to 45% in 2012.
5 CSO, Business Demography 2012, 18 June 2014.
6 Total early stage entrepreneurial activity refers to the total rate of early stage entrepreneurial activity among the adult
population aged 18-64 years inclusive. It includes individuals in the process of starting a business and those running
new businesses less than 3 1?2 years old.
Entrepreneurship
in Ireland
National Policy Statement on Entrepreneurship in Ireland 15
As might have been expected, diminishing perceptions of opportunity, increasing fear of failure and the
dwindling number of successful role models were all characteristics of the recession years, combining to
undermine entrepreneurship activity. Early indications of recovery are characterised by very high “necessity
driven” entrepreneurship – people seek to start a business because they have reduced employment
options. However, there is also a very encouraging upturn in the number of people indicating they want to
start a business within the next three years (up over 80%). A higher percentage of migrants (5.4%) have
recently started a business compared to the non-immigrant population (3.4%). More immigrant early stage
entrepreneurs are motivated by necessity (32%), than is the case for non-immigrant entrepreneurs (17%).
Furthermore, a higher proportion of Irish early stage entrepreneurs expect to become employers (85%)
than their counterparts in Europe as a whole (72%) and those in all OECD countries (71%). Aspiring to
growth is not the same as achieving it, but it is a good place to start. One in ?ve of these entrepreneurs
expect to grow their new business beyond a micro enterprise and to employ at least 10 people.
According to GEM 2013, Irish men are 1.9 times more likely than Irish women to be an early stage
entrepreneur, with rates of early stage entrepreneurs at 12.1% for men and 6.4% for women. This has
been steadily improving and although now level with the EU- 28 average of 1.9:1 and slightly higher than
the OECD average of 1.7:1, it still shows untapped potential amongst female entrepreneurs in Ireland.
Rates of entrepreneurial activity are also in?uenced by age. Entrepreneurial activity is highest amongst
those aged 35 – 44 years (12.6%); 25 – 34 (10%) and 45 – 54 (9%). It is lowest amongst those aged 18 –
24 (7.6%) and 55 – 64 (4.6%). This data suggests there is perhaps untapped potential amongst females,
youth, seniors and migrants and that they should be encouraged to consider an entrepreneurial career.
Entrepreneurial activity amongst those aged 18 – 24 in the U.S. is at 12.3%, and is 9.2% in Israel.
Measuring Irish Entrepreneurship – International Benchmarks
Measuring a country’s entrepreneurial pro?le is not a straightforward exercise. Even at the individual
level, there is no clear consensus on whether the de?nition of entrepreneurship should include self-
employment and intrapreneurship (the creation of new corporate subsidiaries). The picture is even more
complex at a national level due to the inherent complexity of economic systems. Despite these dif?culties,
it is only by measuring entrepreneurship activity, no matter how imperfectly, that we can begin to see
where entrepreneurship is working and where it is not, and begin to understand the reasons for these
differences. That understanding can then be applied to reducing the cultural, economic and institutional
barriers that stand in the way of entrepreneurs.
Benchmarks are required to measure the impact of entrepreneurship and compare performance across
a number of variables and between comparator countries. To date there has been no acceptance of a
dominant variable or index to measure entrepreneurship internationally.
However, Ireland is performing well against a number of international benchmarks on various business
environment indicators. The IMD World Competitiveness Yearbook 2013 ranked Ireland third for availability
of skilled labour and ?rst for ?exibility and adaptability of workforce, attitudes to globalisation and
investment incentives. Ireland took ?rst place in the 2013 Forbes’ annual ranking of the Best Countries
for Business. It was the only nation ranked among the top 15% of countries in each of the 11 metrics
used by Forbes. The European Commission Innovation Union Scoreboard 2013 ranked Ireland ?rst in
Europe for the economic impact of innovation. Ireland ranked 19th overall and 13th in the regional ranking
in the 2014 Global Entrepreneurship Development Index (GEDI), another positive indicator of Ireland’s
performance on the international stage.
IRELAND GEDI Benchmark or Indicator Reference Point
Size of population (million) 4,588,252
Per capita GDP Euro (PPP, World Bank) 40,375
Rank in Doing Business Index 2013 15
Rank in Global Competitiveness Index 2014 28
Rank in Economic Freedom Index 2014 9
GEDI 2014 19
National Policy Statement on Entrepreneurship in Ireland 16
However, while Ireland is clearly performing well, more detailed analysis provides insight
into the strengths and weaknesses of the national entrepreneurship ecosystem and a better
understanding of how it is performing relative to its most direct competitor countries in Europe
and North America, using the Nordic states, the United States and Canada as exemplars.
Entrepreneurship Index
Existing entrepreneurship indices are limited in their value because they either focus primarily on
quantity or on quality. In the development of this Entrepreneurship Policy Statement considerable
attention has been given to investigating the contextual nature of entrepreneurship in order to
incorporate an element of quality. The Global Entrepreneurship & Development Index (GEDI)
is useful because it was created to provide a more complete understanding of economic
development by capturing the contextual nature of business formation, expansion, and growth.
It is based on analysis of comprehensive data sets from more than 120 countries that marshal
information about the “3As” of development: entrepreneurial attitudes, aspirations, and activity.
1. Entrepreneurial attitudes (ATT) are believed to be in?uenced by the crucial institutional
factors of market size, education, the riskiness of a country in general, the usage rate of
the internet in population, and culture.
2. The entrepreneurial activity (ACT) sub-index is principally concerned with measuring
high growth potential startup activity. This high growth potential is approached by quality
measures, including opportunity startup motives, belonging to a technology intensive
sector, the level of education as well as the uniqueness of the offered product/service. The
institutional variables used include the ease of doing business, the availability of the latest
technology, the level of human development, and the freedom of business operation.
3. The entrepreneurial aspiration (ASP) sub-index refers to the distinctive, qualitative, strategy
related nature of entrepreneurial activity. The newness of the product and of technology,
internationalization, high growth ambitions and ?nance variables are included in this sub-
index. The institutional variables measure the R&D potential, the sophistication of business
and of innovation, the level of globalization, and the availability of venture capital.
GEDI addresses many of the de?ciencies of previous measures by combining some of the
basic requirements. The index is suf?ciently complex to capture the multidimensional nature
of entrepreneurship and distinguishes between the qualitative and quantitative aspects of
entrepreneurial activity by incorporating both individual-level and institutional variables. Altogether,
the index construction integrates 31 variables, 16 from GEM and 15 from other data sources, into
14 pillars and three sub-indexes.
This index analyses such information as the amount of money available to ?nance new
businesses, the level of risk-averseness in individuals and the proportion of new businesses
started by women. The indicators are the basic building blocks of the sub-index, Entrepreneurial
Attitudes, Entrepreneurial Activity and Entrepreneurial Aspirations. The Global Entrepreneurship
Development Index, is the average of the three sub-indexes. (The 31 variables are listed in
Appendix 3 of this Statement.)
The GEDI model suggests that attitudes, activity and aspiration interact; if they are out of balance,
entrepreneurship is inhibited. The Index uses a Penalty for Bottleneck (PFB) methodology, thus
improving the score of the weakest indicator will have a greater effect on the index than improving
the score of stronger indicators.
GEDI – 2014
The 2014 GEDI identi?es America as the most enterprising large economy. The EU comes
second, with the rest of the world, including India and China, lagging well behind. There are some
unusual features of the index spots. Three of the ?ve Nordic countries are in the top ten. This
suggests that it is possible to combine enterprise with a big welfare state.
National Policy Statement on Entrepreneurship in Ireland 17
GEDI 2014
Country Rank Score Country Rank Score
United States 1 82.5 Singapore 11 67.9
Canada 2 81.7 Iceland 12 67.5
Australia 3 77.9 France 13 67.2
Sweden 4 73.7 Belgium 14 66.5
Denmark 5 72.5 Norway 15 65.1
Switzerland 6 70.9 Chile 16 65.1
Taiwan 7 69.5 Germany 17 64.6
Finland 8 69.3 Austria 18 64.0
Netherlands 9 69.0 Ireland 19 61.8
UK 10 68.6 Puerto Rico 20 61.7
Singapore 11 67.9 Israel 21 59.7
Iceland 12 67.5 Hong Kong 35 46.6
France 13 67.2 Japan 36 46.1
Belgium 14 66.5 Saudi Arabia 46 43.5
Norway 15 65.1 China 47 41.6
Chile 16 65.1 Russia 70 33.2
Germany 17 64.6 Nigeria 74 31.6
Austria 18 64.0 India 76 31.3
Ireland 19 61.8 Brazil 81 30.4
Puerto Rico 20 61.7 Bangladesh 121 13.8
Using this entrepreneurship-related data to compare countries, the index provides a global
picture of the entrepreneurship ecosystem. The index is particularly valuable in identifying local
bottlenecks. A number of the larger EU countries, such as Britain (10th), France (13th) and
Germany (17th), all perform below their potential because of a shortage of venture capital.
Developing countries often perform inconsistently. Latin America’s high scores on attitudes
towards entrepreneurship are undermined by its poor scores on the ability to capitalise on those
attitudes. China fares poorly when it comes to competition and the availability of startup skills,
while India has a shortage of venture capital. The capital-rich Gulf States score very low on
launching new products and on starting new companies.
Some countries rank lower than might have been expected. Israel, for example, is ranked 21st,
despite having one of the world’s most vibrant high-tech economies. Hong Kong comes 35th,
despite being one of the largest business centres in Asia.
Basic characteristics – Ireland
The GEDI spider diagram below compares Ireland’s pro?le to those of UK, Denmark and the
United States based on the GEDI 15 pillar values.
GEDI Pillar Comparison
Opportunity Perception
Risk Acceptance
Gender
Opportunity Startup
Start-up Skills
Risk Capital
Cultural Support
Process Innovation Product Innovation
Networking
Competition
Tech Sector
Internationalization
Human Capital
High Growth
0
Ireland
UK
Denmark
United States
1
0.8
0.4
0.2
0.6
National Policy Statement on Entrepreneurship in Ireland 18
This analysis shows Ireland is performing relatively well in overall terms, with particular strength
in such areas as human capital, internationalisation and encouraging high growth ?rms. In
the introductory chapter of this Policy Statement (Strategic Objectives) the Government has
con?rmed its focus on maintaining these strengths. The DJEI is committed to enhancing Ireland’s
performance in these areas by setting the following high level objectives. We will:
Improve the quality and range of ICT professionals domestically to make Ireland a hub for
technology startups;
Stimulate and support quality entrepreneurial ventures that have high growth, export, wealth
and job creation potential.
Ensure startups target clearly identi?ed customer/market segments, supported by clearly
developed value propositions. If appropriate, ensure they are export-oriented at an early
stage.
This analysis also highlights areas that need to be addressed, including opportunity perception
(the proportion of the population that can identify good opportunities to start a business), gender
(the proportion of female entrepreneurs), cultural support and risk acceptance or fear of failure.
As indicated the introductory chapter, actions will be taken under the following high level
objectives to address these weaknesses. We will:
Make entrepreneurship an integral part of our ambition as a nation. Support its development
in our education system, in our communities and in corporate behaviours.
Celebrate and reward successful entrepreneurs.
Ensure that greater numbers of people, particularly in underrepresented cohorts such as
females, youths and older persons, start and run their own business.
Create a business environment, in terms of company law, taxation, regulation and licensing,
which makes it is easy to start and grow a new business, making it one of the most attractive
environments for entrepreneurship in Europe.
Further in-depth analysis will be undertaken to identify precisely what factors are in?uencing both
high and low performances in the GEDI pillars. Using this data we will create an accurate picture
of the entrepreneurship ecosystem in Ireland. We will then be in a position to identify the policies
and initiatives that are delivering for entrepreneurs, the initiatives that could be doing more and the
bottlenecks where intervention would improve the entrepreneurship ecosystem the most.
National System of Entrepreneurship
A National System of Entrepreneurship is:
“the dynamic, institutionally embedded interaction between entrepreneurial attitudes, activities,
and aspirations, by individuals, which drives the allocation of resources through the creation and
operation of new ventures.
7
”
All policy initiatives that are intended to stimulate or promote entrepreneurship and innovation
are the basis of the national system for entrepreneurship in Ireland. The national system or
framework consists of a number of sub-systems and components that interact to produce system
performance. It is critical that relevant index/indicators are used to measure and inform analysis of
the system as a whole.
As emphasised by GEDI, a country’s level of development has important implications for the
approaches and policies it adopts in respect of entrepreneurship. Factor-driven economies
need to focus on entrepreneurial attitudes, to stimulate initial activity and subsequently begin
the process of enabling entrepreneurial aspirations. The focus of ef?ciency-driven economies,
however, should be squarely on promoting entrepreneurial activity. However, here too, it is
important to continue efforts to improve attitudes towards entrepreneurship and to develop
entrepreneurial aspirations.
Given that Ireland is performing strongly across international entrepreneurship benchmarks, as
measured by GEDI, Ireland’s entrepreneurial pro?le is that of an innovation-driven economy. The
innovation-driven stage is biased towards high value added industries in which entrepreneurial
activity is important. In innovation-driven economies, the key focus should be on aspirations - the
newness of the product and of technology, internationalisation, high growth ambitions and ?nance
variables are included in the aspirations sub-index.
7 Acs, Autio & Szerb 2012
National Policy Statement on Entrepreneurship in Ireland 19
GEDI
Level of Development Attitudes Activity Aspirations
Factor Driven Economy Key Focus Develop Start Enabling
Ef?ciency Driven Economy
Continuous
Improvement
Key Focus Develop
Innovation Driven Economy
Continuous
Improvement
Continuous
Improvement
Key Focus
The implied key focus for Ireland, therefore, is to identify the areas where the national
entrepreneurial performance may be held back by such bottlenecks as restricted product
innovation, process innovation and limited availability of risk capital.
For an innovation driven economy, opportunity perception potential is a prerequisite to recognising
and exploring novel business opportunities. To exploit these opportunities, it is critical to have
the proper startup skills and personal networks. Even when both opportunity recognition and
startup skills exist, attitudes such as fear of failure may prevent a potential entrepreneur from ever
starting.
High growth potential is also critical and is determined by quality measures, including opportunity
motivation for startups that belong to a technology-intensive sector, the entrepreneur’s level of
education, and the level of competition. The institutional variables include the freedom to operate
a business, the capability to absorb technology, the extent of staff training, and the dominance of
powerful business groups.
For Ireland’s national system for entrepreneurship to function effectively it will be essential to
measure and monitor entrepreneurial activity at all stages of the process.
Key Actions:
Benchmarking/Measuring
Entrepreneurship in Ireland
Conduct a comprehensive pro?le analysis of the national entrepreneurship ecosystem
in Ireland to assess current national performance against international comparators.
This assessment should take the form of an in-depth analysis to assess the individual
indicators and data for Ireland compiled across international benchmarks. This
analysis will reveal the particular conditions that are driving high or low scores across
the internationally recognised indicators for entrepreneurship and identify areas in
which policy improvements would improve the entrepreneurship ecosystem the most.
(DJEI)
Develop a consistent benchmark index for Ireland that will measure and track trends
across the national entrepreneurship system. This comprehensive analysis should
assist in identifying strengths, weaknesses and opportunities across the ecosystem
and will form the basis of an annual report to the Minister for Jobs Enterprise &
Innovation. (DJEI)
The National Competitiveness Council will support the DJEI in examining
entrepreneurship indicators as a measure of competitiveness. (NCC, DJEI)
National Policy Statement on Entrepreneurship in Ireland 20
Promoting a national spirit and culture of entrepreneurship is essential
if we are to facilitate a strong pipeline of future business startups.
Education plays an essential role in shaping attitudes and culture –
from the primary school level up. The earlier and more widespread the
exposure to entrepreneurship and innovation, the more likely it is that
students will consider becoming entrepreneurs in the future. We also
must ensure that the system supports young people and adults to
acquire the skills enterprise needs now and to prepare them to both
take up and to create the jobs and workplaces of tomorrow.
From the GEDI pillar comparison on page 17, opportunity perception,
risk acceptance and percentage of female entrepreneurs are all
areas where Ireland shows weakness compared to Denmark, the
US and UK.
1.1 Culture
Entrepreneurship is a powerful driver of economic growth and job creation. It creates new
companies and jobs, opens up new markets, and nurtures new skills and capabilities. It is
vital, therefore, that it be seen as an attractive and viable career option. We need to foster a
culture within which successful entrepreneurs are celebrated, recognised and rewarded for their
endeavours, not least because this will help legitimise the entrepreneurial career path. The role of
the education system in re-enforcing positive perceptions of entrepreneurship is essential to bring
about cultural change.
Practical and positive actions that promote the value of entrepreneurs to society and highlight the
career opportunities afforded by new business creation or acquisition are important in helping to
change the perception of entrepreneurs.
1.2 Human Capital
Certain demographic groups tend to be underrepresented within the entrepreneurial population,
especially females, young people, migrants and seniors. Increasing entrepreneurship levels
amongst underrepresented groups will require policy interventions that are transparent and
inclusive and tailored to meet their needs. Much work is being undertaken by the Government to
promote entrepreneurial role models, foster positive attitudes to risk taking, teach basic business
management and ?nancial literacy and address skills gaps.
The gap between the numbers of males and females starting their own businesses each year has
narrowed (the ratio is currently 1.9 males: 1 females)
8
but there is scope for further progress. A
gender breakdown of Enterprise Ireland high potential startups (HPSUs) in recent years shows
a far larger gap between the numbers of male-led HPSU companies to female-led companies.
Analysis undertaken in 2012 of the previous 10 years of HSPU companies in Enterprise Ireland’s
8 Global Entrepreneurship Monitor 2013
Culture,
Human
Capital and
Education
Promoting a
national spirit
and culture of
entrepreneurship
is essential if we
are to facilitate a
strong pipeline of
future business
startups
National Policy Statement on Entrepreneurship in Ireland 21
client base indicates an average of only 5% of HSPU startups were led by female entrepreneurs.
In 2012, female led enterprises accounted for just 7% of HPSU investments. Enterprise
Ireland conducted research in 2012 which showed the following challenges speci?c to female
entrepreneurship:
Fewer role models;
Less access to ?nance and lower levels of risk taking;
Low self-con?dence;
Limited female networking opportunities; and
Lack of technical expertise.
It is essential that potential female entrepreneurs are made aware of the signi?cant range of support
programmes that have been put in place by the various enterprise agencies to address these
challenges and to encourage and inspire an increase in female-led businesses. Targeted actions
have shown positive change. In 2013, 57% of participants attending core training programmes in
Local Enterprise Of?ces (LEOs) were female. In 2013, Enterprise Ireland invested in 103 HPSUs and
41 of these companies were female-led projects, up from 16 in 2012. The focus now must be to
help these young companies to realise their full potential to achieve signi?cant scale and become
major international businesses in markets across the globe.
The Entrepreneurship Forum noted the need to address the entrepreneurial needs of the signi?cant
number of unemployed people in Ireland, many of whom are young. Few business development
support schemes in the past have speci?cally targeted youths. This issue is now being addressed
with new initiatives. As part of the Action Plan for Jobs, the Local Enterprise Of?ces launched a
competition in 2014 to identify Ireland’s Best Young Entrepreneur. Open to people under 30 years
of age, the competition has a total prize fund of €2 million available to reward young entrepreneurs.
Winners at county level will be eligible for an investment in their businesses of up to €25,000, while
winners at national level can receive additional investments of up to €50,000 each. Mentoring,
marketing and other supports will also be available to participating businesses at various stages of
the competition.
The youth cohort is a vast resource that is signi?cantly underused. It is important that support is
targeted at groups with the greatest potential, in particular those unemployed youths who already
possess professional skills and competences that could be transferred through business coaching
and mentorship to self-employed businesses.
Gaeltacht areas are some of the most remote in Ireland, creating particular challenges for enterprise
stimulation and job creation. While generally positive in tone, a recent IBEC Economic Update (28
July 2014) showed a drop of between 2% and 4% in youth population in the BMW regions (vis-à-
vis the national average), which comprises large tracts of Gaeltacht areas in Donegal, Mayo and
Galway. Policy initiatives should seek to address this trend amongst 20 – 34 year olds by improving
the entrepreneurial ecosystem of the west to make it more attractive to young entrepreneurs.
Graduate entrepreneurship is also important. A new targeted programme to encourage
entrepreneurship among graduates was launched by Enterprise Ireland in May 2014. The main
purpose of the Graduate Competitive Start Fund is to provide up to 15 graduates with the critical
early stage funding to enable them to reach key commercial and technical objectives that will in turn
ensure delivery of their product or service and help them reach key funding milestones.
Action has also been taken by Enterprise Ireland to roll out an enhanced Student Enterprise Awards
initiative targeting a greater number of students from the third level sector and increasing the quality
of applications.
Early-stage entrepreneurship is higher among immigrants (11%) than among the non-immigrant
population (8.8%). It is important that policies to encourage entrepreneurship in Ireland take full
account of the entrepreneurship potential of immigrants. In particular, support measures and policy
initiatives should help attract to Ireland talented entrepreneurs intending to create global companies.
With the median age of the population in Ireland expected to rise signi?cantly in coming decades,
older people are a potentially valuable resource for entrepreneurship. This cohort has experience
and knowledge and it is essential that support programmes harness this resource. The national
system of entrepreneurship must engage seniors in both business creation and in supporting new
and existing entrepreneurs. This will maximise the wealth of experience they possess that can be
lost on retirement and ensure effective knowledge transfer.
Initiatives such as ‘Senior Enterprise’ encourage motivated older people to serve as voluntary
mentors, potential buyers of or investors in businesses, or as temporary managers to assist
startups or businesses in transition.
National Policy Statement on Entrepreneurship in Ireland 22
1.3 Education
The Department of Education and Skills supports enterprise in schools through the development
of a basic understanding of scienti?c principles and methods and of business. It also encourages
active and collaborative learning, the development of ICT skills in the revised primary curriculum
and good arts education, all of which foster creativity, innovation, risk-taking and other key
elements in entrepreneurial thinking and action.
Skills underpinning entrepreneurship are also central to the new Framework for Junior Cycle and
there are many examples of good work being undertaken in many schools at transition year in
mini-company formation and other projects designed to foster entrepreneurship.
The education and training system will continue to play a critical role in developing Ireland’s
enterprise and innovation infrastructure. It is currently undergoing an unprecedented level of
structural reform. Ensuring that the system supports young people and adults in the acquisition
of skills that are needed in the workplace is a key objective of this reform process. There is
a particular emphasis, too, on the development of higher-order thinking skills, the ability to
observe, collate and evaluate evidence, to question, summarise, analyse and interpret and the
development of problem solving skills.
All of the above skills, allied with the attainment of competence in a second modern language,
form an important basis for lifelong learning and for creating a culture of enterprise. These
education initiatives need to be further developed over the coming years. Good practice models
will be mainstreamed and successes recognised. Audits and peer reviews can help embed
stronger support for entrepreneurship.
In a number of European countries (eg. Denmark, Estonia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Sweden,
Norway, Wales and the Flemish part of Belgium) speci?c strategies have been introduced to
promote entrepreneurship education. The EU Commissions Entrepreneurship Education at
School in Europe report in 2012 noted that there is no speci?c national strategy for Ireland in
entrepreneurship education in general education, although there are ongoing initiatives.
Encouraging and promoting an enterprise culture among the student population is an important
area of activity for the Local Enterprise Of?ces. Over 20,000 students a year now participate in
the various LEO supported programmes implemented in the education sector at both primary and
secondary level including:
Student Enterprise Awards - Second Level
Exploring Enterprise - Second Level
Bi Gnothach Enterprise Programme - Primary Level
A strategy for the Further Education and Training sector has been developed by SOLAS and
includes education for entrepreneurship skills. The Higher Education Authority (HEA) is developing
an enterprise engagement strategy, within which entrepreneurial education will be an important
part. This strategy will set out performance indicators and measures to benchmark entrepreneurial
activity in Irish higher education. A range of modules in commercialisation are now being offered
across Higher Education Institutes (HEls) at undergraduate and postgraduate levels, while
structured PhDs have commercialisation, innovation and entrepreneurship embedded into
programme provision.
Enterprise needs to play a more central role in education to help HEIs provide an environment
supportive of entrepreneurship. Some models currently in use can be developed further. For
example, Accelerated Campus Entrepreneurship (ACE) has supported eight HEIs embed
entrepreneurship within their curriculums, and develop an extensive range of programmes to
promote entrepreneurship education. An Enterprise and Entrepreneurial Learning Module has
been adopted by 17 different higher education institutions and in June 2014 ACE rebranded
itself as CEEN (Campus Entrepreneurship Enterprise Network), marking its transition to a national
network. CEEN is available to all HEIs interested in developing entrepreneurship education
9
.
The evolution of this programme will be vital in developing future entrepreneurship education
in Ireland.
The Department of Education and Skills is currently considering how best to promote
entrepreneurship in schools. As an initial initiative, the Department hosted a conference in
September 2014.
9http://www.ceen.ie
National Policy Statement on Entrepreneurship in Ireland 23
Key Actions:
Culture, Human Capital & Education
Make entrepreneurship an integral part of our ambition as a nation
Develop guidance for schools to enhance enterprise in education. (DES)
Work with education stakeholders across the education system to identify best practice and to
mainstream successful programmes wherever feasible. (DES)
Examine the Entrepreneurship in the Schools activity in each LEO area and develop strategies to
increase participation and impact. (LEOs, DJEI)
Develop a programme engaging entrepreneurs in exposing students to the excitement and opportunity
of entrepreneurship, starting with a pilot across LEOS. (EI, LEOs, DES, ÚnaG)
Map relevant entrepreneurship activities in higher education institutions as part of the overall strategy
for higher education engagement with enterprise and embed entrepreneurship support within the HEI
System Performance Framework. (DES)
Develop an enterprise engagement strategy for higher education to include entrepreneurial education
as an important part of the national framework for enterprise engagement. (HEA)
Set out performance indicators and measures to benchmark entrepreneurial activity in Irish higher
education. (DES, HEA)
Develop an Entrepreneurial PhD programme with a view to training more scientists in SFI supported
research teams to launch their own businesses. (SFI, Irish Research Council, with relevant stakeholders)
Celebrate and reward successful entrepreneurs
Develop existing entrepreneurship award schemes to ensure speci?c categories of untapped potential are
promoted and to promote emerging entrepreneurship networks, clusters and accelerators. (EI, LEOs)
Work with other award giving initiatives to increase public awareness of entrepreneurship successes.
(DJEI, EI)
Develop new measures within the Gaeltacht to recognise local entrepreneurs, building on Gradam Gnó na
Gaeltachta (Gaeltacht Business Award). (ÚnaG)
Ensure that more people have an equal opportunity to start and run their own business
Work with the Department of Social Protection to promote the Back to Work Enterprise Allowance, and
support these startups with appropriate interventions e.g. mentoring, micro-loans. (LEOs, INTREO)
Develop dedicated calls under LEO, Údaras na Gaeltachta and EI programmes to target
underrepresented cohorts. (EI, LEOs, ÚnaG)
Evaluate the Ireland’s Best Young Entrepreneur Fund with a view to building on the success of the 2014
scheme and increasing the number of youth entrepreneurs accessing support systems. (LEOs, EI, ÚnaG)
Ensure that entrepreneurship is recognised as a career option in the roll out of the new apprenticeships
system. (DES)
Promote female entrepreneurship through identi?cation and promotion of female role models, targeted
events and awards, support for female entrepreneur networks and promotion of a dedicated area on
corporate websites. (LEOs, EI, ÚnaG)
Improve the quality and range of ICT skills domestically to make Ireland a hub for technology
startups
Deliver the ambitious plan to increase the availability of ICT skills from Irish Education Institutes. (DES)
Increase the attractiveness of STEM subjects to a larger cohort of Leaving Certi?cate students. (DES)
Develop a web portal to attract international talent with in-demand skills to Ireland. (EI, IDA, D/Social
Protection, D/Foreign Affairs, Irish Software Association, ICT Ireland)
Develop Junior Cycle short courses in Digital Media Literacy and Coding. (NCCA)
Facilitate the issuing of up to 2,000 employment permits per year to experienced ICT professionals with
skills in high demand. (DJEI)
National Policy Statement on Entrepreneurship in Ireland 24
Well-functioning,
appropriate and
stable framework
conditions,
incentives and
supports form the
basis of a good
entrepreneurship
ecosystem.
Business
Environment
& Supports
2
There is a range of framework conditions and policies that can
affect both ?rst time entrepreneurs and serial entrepreneurs. These
include tax rates and incentives, education and training, regulation,
legislation, the climate for R&D, immigration, trade, infrastructure
and Government funded enterprise supports. Well-functioning,
appropriate and stable framework conditions, incentives and
supports form the basis of a good entrepreneurship ecosystem.
Public authorities regulate in the public interest to achieve a variety
of goals. They try to ensure a fair and competitive marketplace,
to protect health, to promote safety and to stimulate innovation.
Regulation is a tool for delivering policies and meeting citizens’
expectations. However, it is essential that entrepreneurs are not
inhibited or discouraged by red tape and unnecessary bureaucracy.
The high attrition rate among new companies highlights the importance of ensuring that the
framework conditions and targeted actions support the sustainable growth and long term survival
of high quality businesses. Ongoing focused work will be required in such policy areas as access
to ?nance, tax, reward for risk, administrative and regulatory burdens, exporting, advisory &
counselling services and education.
In designing policies, laws and regulations, the Government and its agents must adopt the best
approaches possible, optimising opportunities for economic and social progress and minimising
potential negative effects. They must also listen carefully to the views of people affected by these
instruments.
The Commission for the Economic Development of Rural Areas (CEDRA) report, Energising
Ireland’s Rural Economy, published in April 2014, identi?ed that the recent downturn in economic
activity has had a greater detrimental impact on rural areas than on urban ones. Since 2008
unemployment and emigration levels disimproved by 192% and 27% respectively in the
countryside, compared to 114% and between 15% and 17% in urban areas. Equally signi?cant,
rural areas are not experiencing the same level of economic rebound as their urban counterparts.
This is of major national signi?cance as rural areas account for 57% of Ireland’s total population.
An increase in entrepreneurship in rural areas is essential to rural economic development and
wellbeing. The development of Local Enterprise Development Plans will identify new initiatives
and opportunities to support this agenda. It is also essential that rural areas have the capacity to
bene?t from the mechanisms proposed within this Policy Statement. The poor level of internet/
broadband access and capacity in many rural areas is a handicap to their strategic development.
Irish arts & culture has had signi?cant achievements on the international stage and represents
an important area of opportunity for entrepreneurial led growth. There are also signi?cant
entrepreneurial opportunities in the heritage sector, particularly in more peripheral areas.
Opportunities range from traditional heritage tourism products to new opportunities in such
areas as adventure tourism, outdoor sport & recreation, ecological and wildlife tourism. Agri-food
entrepreneurship can also be built on a strong commitment to sustainability and protection of
natural assets. These are all areas offering signi?cant growth potential.
National Policy Statement on Entrepreneurship in Ireland 25
Food tourism is developing fresh dimensions as a new generation of craft brewing and distilling
entrepreneurs is developing products with an emphasis on quality, provenance and innovation
and also investing ancillary businesses such as visitor centres and food and drink trails.
Investments in distilling range from €5-10 million to hundreds of million euro in the case of
existing players. Four new distilleries are in operation and 20 more are planned. At present some
33 microbreweries are in operation; a further 17 are in development and by end 2014 some 21
counties are expected to have a craft brewery. Internationally the market for Irish Whiskey is one
of double digit growth and craft beers are increasingly associated with their individual story and
associated good food match. The development of the Wild Atlantic Way and other themed trails
is an opportunity for the growth of small food and drink business clusters, which generally have
a greater multiplier effect than single businesses. The potential for artisan food and tourism to
create value and employment has been noted in the CEDRA report.
Tourism continues to be one of Ireland’s most important economic sectors. Entrepreneurship
within this sector has signi?cant potential to play a further role in Ireland’s economic renewal.
A broad range of business sectors draw part of their revenue stream from tourists. These sectors
include transport, retail, pubs and restaurants, accommodation, entertainment venues, visitor
attractions, tour guides and parts of the education sector. Research by Fáilte Ireland indicates that
up to 200,000 jobs are supported by the tourism sector. The Department of Transport, Tourism &
Sport and Fáilte Ireland will continue to work to identify and exploit opportunities for convergence
between tourism and other areas of enterprise and entrepreneurship. The provision of support by
LEO’s and Local Action Groups to startup and developing tourism enterprises will be aligned with
the Local Authorities tourism objectives and plans for their areas.
Ireland has a good reputation as a place where it is easy to start a business.
Some of the well-recognised strengths are:
Availability of talent
Low rate of corporate tax
Availability of R&D tax credits
Low rates of non-wage add-ons to labour costs
Ease of establishing an enterprise
Flexible labour
Some less well known strengths are:
The availability of seed and venture capital funds
The availability of tax breaks under various startup tax reliefs
An expanding suite of easy-to-use regimes that take unnecessary compliance costs out of
the requirement to meet regulatory standards
However, in the 2013 public consultation on entrepreneurship, various stakeholders highlighted
areas for improvement, including:
Many of the supports for startups are dif?cult to understand and complex to use
The legislation to allow people whose initial venture failed a second chance is
underdeveloped
Irish permissions and licensing are sometimes not as responsive as those of our competitors
Some elements of the tax code create unintended consequences for entrepreneurship in
areas such as Capital Gains Tax (which is seen as unfavourable for entrepreneurs).
Work has already started in making improvements in many of these areas. The suite of tax policies
that affect entrepreneurs is being reviewed. New examinership and personal insolvency regimes
have recently been put in place. A new licensing regime is being piloted in the retail sector with a
view to it being made more widely available. A new Company Law bill, which will greatly simplify
incorporation of an enterprise, is currently before the Oireachtas.
The Department of Social Protection provides support for unemployed people to start a business
in the form of the Back to Work Enterprise Allowance. To support job creation, a range of
employment supports are also available. These include a free recruitment service through the
Jobs Ireland service, the JobBridge internship scheme, ?nancial assistance through Jobs Plus
and a range of workplace support schemes to support employers who employ a person with a
disability. An Employer Pack, available on the Department of Social Protection’s website, contains
more details on these supports and services.
National Policy Statement on Entrepreneurship in Ireland 26
The Social Inclusion and Community Activation Programme (SICAP) will seek to further address
poverty and social exclusion through front-line interventions and the provision of self-employment,
community and social enterprise supports as potential routes towards addressing long term
unemployment and socio-economic disadvantage. This work and its contribution towards
self-employment is set out in detail in the Pobal report “Supporting Inclusion through Self-
employment.” In the main, this work has been undertaken by Local Development Companies,
who are supported via the assistance of the Department of Social Protection Back to Work
Enterprise Allowance (BTWEA) scheme.
It is clear that an integrated approach is needed which combines the full range of services in
supporting the development of an entrepreneurial culture in Ireland. The new Social Inclusion
and Community Activation Programme as well as the LEADER programme will play a valuable
role in driving our ambition. These programmes have a remit for working in disadvantaged
communities across the country. Local and Community Development Committees (LCDCs) have
been established in each local authority area and will be responsible along with the local authority
for the drafting of a Local Economic and Community Plan (LECP). The LECP will seek to address
community and local development responses to employment, self-employment and social
enterprise.
The Local Enterprise Of?ces (LEOs) are required to draft an annual plan for boosting enterprise
which should be complementary to the LECP. It is also essential that all sources of funding
in support of enterprise are fully complementary and avoid duplication. Therefore, strong co-
operation and consistency among all of the actors is vital in support of enterprise in each county.
To achieve the objectives of this Policy Statement, a set of actions will be developed in each of
the coming years to enhance the business environment and supports for entrepreneurs.
2.1 Taxation
The tax environment for entrepreneurs and investors in Ireland has become more challenging,
particularly when compared with the UK’s tax rates. It is critical that Ireland should remain
competitive as a location for both home-grown and internationally mobile entrepreneurs.
As emphasised in the Action Plan for Jobs 2014, the right conditions for entrepreneurship to
thrive include ?scal policy, with both tax rates and tax incentives supporting entrepreneurship and
in?uencing investment decisions. Taxation has an important role to play in developing Ireland’s
entrepreneurship ecosystem to meet the highest international standards and facilitating the
growth of startups into enduring companies offering sustainable long-term employment.
The effective tax rate, rather than the nominal rate, is regarded as one of the most important
measures of the competitiveness of a country’s tax system. Ireland’s effective corporate tax rate,
which is low, certain and affords favourable treatment of investment in research, is competitive
and transparent. It has been a key attraction for international investment and will continue to be in
the future.
2.1.1 Startup Company Relief
Startup Company Relief provides relief from corporation tax for new startup companies for the
?rst three years of trading in respect of pro?ts from a new trade and chargeable gains on the
disposal of assets used in the trade. Such relief applies if the total corporation tax payable for an
accounting period does not exceed €40,000. Marginal relief is available if the total corporation
tax payable is between €40,000 and €60,000. The value of the relief in each of the three years is
capped at the amount of employers’ PRSI paid by a company.
2.1.2 Start Your Own Business
The Start Your Own Business (SYOB) scheme provides relief from income tax for people who
were long-term unemployed (unemployed for 12 months or more and in receipt of social welfare
support/training) immediately before starting a business. The scheme provides an exemption
from income tax up to a maximum of €40,000 per annum for a period of two years for qualifying
individuals. This relief applies to income tax and does not extend to Universal Social Charge or
Pay Related Social Insurance. The relief is available in respect of unincorporated businesses set
up between 25th October 2013 and 31st December 2016. Data on take-up of the scheme is not
yet available.
National Policy Statement on Entrepreneurship in Ireland 27
2.1.3 Share Based Remuneration in Private Companies
Share based employee remuneration can signi?cantly reduce ?xed labour costs and capital
requirements, thereby providing signi?cant cash-?ow bene?ts to an enterprise, particularly a high
potential startup. The extent to which a company can avail of tax ef?cient share based employee
remuneration relief in Ireland, compared to other countries, plays a signi?cant part in this country’s
attractiveness to entrepreneurs.
Irish tax legislation allows for many types of schemes which facilitate employers who wish to
allocate shares, or grant options to buy shares, to their employees. These include share option
schemes, ‘save as you earn’ share option schemes, approved pro?t sharing schemes, restricted
share schemes and employee share ownership trusts.
The current tax treatment of share options, however, is considered to be less competitive than
that available in other countries and this is having a negative effect on the ability of Irish startups
to attract world class talent. The perceived problems concern the timing of tax liabilities, the
administrative costs involved and the high rates of capital gains tax. This creates a particular
challenge for businesses seeking engineering or executive level talent to ?ll such roles as chief
executive of?cer, chief operating of?cer and chief ?nancial of?cer.
In practice, because of the immediate tax liabilities triggered, the use of share based employee
remuneration by private companies in Ireland is limited. In addition, for smaller companies the
administrative burden of setting up such schemes is unduly high. This puts Irish-based private
companies at a distinct competitive disadvantage compared to stock exchange listed companies
when competing to attract and hire suitably skilled staff from the global talent pool.
2.1.4 Seed Capital Scheme & Employment and Investment Incentive
The Seed Capital Scheme (SCS), in conjunction with its associated scheme, the Employment and
Investment Incentive (EII), are tax relief incentive schemes. The EIIS provides tax relief to unrelated
private investors for investment in certain corporate trades. The SCS provides for a refund of
income tax already paid to those who are or were in employment which was subject to PAYE
and who establish and work full time in their own company when that individual makes a relevant
investment in a qualifying company.
Neither the SCS nor the EII is used extensively, indicating that reforms are probably required
to improve the promotion and uptake of these measures. Both schemes are currently being
reviewed by the Department of Finance ahead of Budget 2015.
2.1.5 Capital Gains Tax
Investment and reinvestment of capital are essential to enterprise development. Following a
number of capital gains tax (CGT) rate increases in recent years, Ireland’s CGT rate has increased
to a relatively high rate in international terms of 33 per cent, without any indexation allowance
to compensate for the effects of in?ation. These increases in CGT rates create a challenge
for Ireland’s competitiveness. They have been made during a period in which many other
countries have gone in the opposite direction, enhancing their competitiveness as a location for
entrepreneurial activity by signi?cantly improving their tax treatment of capital gains.
Subject to EU State aid clearance, Budget 2014 introduced a targeted CGT relief designed
to encourage business people to re-invest the proceeds of previous asset disposals into new
business ventures. The bene?t of this incentive is restricted in the current ?scal circumstances, but
it will be reviewed with a view to improving it in the light of experience and other developments.
2.2 Business Registration
The quickest country in which to register a new business is New Zealand, where it takes just half
a day, according to the World Bank’s ‘Doing Business’ Survey 2013. In Ireland it takes 10 days,
putting the country in 10th place internationally. The global average time for business registration
is now around 30 days – a signi?cant improvement on the average of 50 days recorded in 2005. It
is notable that many of the countries with the fastest new business registration services, i.e. New
Zealand, Australia, Singapore, Canada and Denmark, offer electronic registration.
Work is ongoing to signi?cantly reduce the time and cost of company incorporations in Ireland.
Over the past three years alone the Companies Registration Of?ce (CRO) has reduced processing
time by three days and the cost of registration by one third, achievements due to augmenting its
online business registration facility. The CRO intends to reduce the average length of time required
to register a new business to eight days in 2014 and to seven days in 2015.
National Policy Statement on Entrepreneurship in Ireland 28
With regard to registering for tax, customer service standards for business tax registration require
that 100% of such applications are completed within ?ve working days, with the exception of
10 working days for VAT registration applications. There is scope to continue to improve these
registration processes.
2.3 Reducing Administrative Burdens
The High Level Group on Business Regulation is a standing dialogue of of?cials, business and
union representatives, chaired by the DJEI, which is responsible for identifying ways of reducing
the burden of red tape on business. The Group encourages business to bring key regulatory
burdens and unnecessary process complexity to its attention along with proposed solutions that
might be pursued by the Group in order to improve the way Government agencies interact with
business.
An easy to use web portal (businessregulation.ie) for all key business regulatory compliance issues
has been introduced to help reduce the regulatory burden on the enterprise sector. Launched in
June 2012, the portal brings together in one place information on regulations imposed by over 30
Government bodies and how companies can best comply with them.
An integrated licensing system is also to be introduced. This will provide businesses with a single
web portal through which businesses will be able to apply for and renew a wide range of licences.
The new system will be developed for the retail sector in the ?rst instance and subsequently rolled
out to other sectors of the economy.
Much effort has already been put into streamlining Company Law obligations and compliance
obligations to make them easy to understand and execute for compliant enterprises. The
Companies Bill 2012 restructures, consolidates, simpli?es and modernises company law in
Ireland, with the ultimate aim of improving Ireland’s competitive position as a location for business
investment. It provides a state-of-the-art framework for all businesses operating in Ireland, both
domestic and foreign based, and will be enacted in 2014.
To assist with compliance, simpli?cation tools will be provided. BeSMART is one example of this.
Introduced by the Health and Safety Authority, this free on-line risk assessment tool is aimed
speci?cally at Small and Medium Enterprises and has the potential to bring about €50 million in
compliance cost savings for business.
Work will continue to drive ef?ciencies in many of the necessary interactions of new businesses
with the State e.g. turnaround time for work permits, more online facilities and ?rst stop shop
services.
2.4 Supports
Ireland has developed an extensive range of supports for startups. The direct spend on these
programmes is over €100 million per annum. A sample of the scale and cost of various
programmes are summarised below and further details are provided in Appendix 1.
Programme €m 2013 Participating Enterprises 2013
High Potential Startups 21.7 104
Competitive Start 4.3 60
HPSU Feasibility Study 2.6 212
Competitive Feasibility 1.0 43
New Frontiers 6.1 144
EI - Mentoring 0.6 513
LEO Grants 10 776
LEO - Mentoring 2.0 6,500
Startup Training 4.0 3,800
Seed & Venture Capital 55.0 186
Commercialisation Fund 15.7 64
Incubation Centres (26) 2.0 355
National Policy Statement on Entrepreneurship in Ireland 29
The supports available range from startup training and feasibility study grants to direct support,
access to seed and venture capital and various levels of mentoring and capacity building. Of the
12,000 startups each year the DJEI enterprise agencies provide direct support to approximately
1,200 and soft (i.e. non-?nancial) support to over 4,000. Direct support is only made available to
enterprises with the capacity to export, an approach which remains an important policy principle.
Recent reorganisation of the Local Enterprise Of?ces into a ‘First Stop Shop’ for all business
supports has made it much easier for businesses and potential entrepreneurs to access the wide
range of services provided by the different government agencies.
The business support programmes offered are subjected to rolling evaluation. To date these
evaluations have been positive, identifying good bene?t to cost ratios. Where appropriate,
recommendations for improvements have been made as a result of these evaluations. A wider
range of performance indicators will be developed on foot of this Policy Statement to benchmark
progress and compare best practice at home and abroad. A set of challenging performance
targets will also be set for all agencies involved in the provision of business supports.
Early intervention by the Local Enterprise Of?ces and Enterprise Ireland continue to play an
important role in helping people to establish businesses, accelerate their business development
and to build up the skills and contacts needed to successfully start and grow. These interventions
are provided through various channels such as business planning support, mentoring, feasibility
funding, competitive start funding, innovation vouchers, entrepreneur development programmes
such as New Frontiers, workshops, networks and incubation and accelerator programmes.
To improve the performance of startups further, one of the aims of this Policy Statement is to
increase the emphasis placed on the quality of interventions. The mix of programmes and the
resources allocated to them will be closely tracked to ensure optimum impact. Areas offering
potential for improvement include:
The number of HPSUs achieving scale
The number of LEO clients’ progressing into overseas markets and into EI programmes
The range and quality of mentoring, the level of access to new support providers and the
level of choice given to entrepreneurs
Better integration of the Community Enterprise Centres into the Local policy for
entrepreneurship
The opportunity to make greater use in an integrated way of the supports across government
Opportunities to work with other stakeholders to develop hubs for entrepreneurship and
sectoral clusters to support startups
Delivery of greater commercial impact by the innovation system
The capacity of startups to evaluate the ?nancial aspects of their businesses and to present
this information in a credible way to potential funding sources
Basic business skills are essential for all potential entrepreneurs. Between 2005 and 2010,
18,899 individuals participated in one of the Start Your Own Business training courses provided
countrywide by the LEOs. Year on year the number participating grew by an average of 7.5 per
cent. Analysis indicates that at least half of all course participants go on to start a business, while
10 per cent use what they have learned to enhance their management of an existing business.
Benchmarking the quality and outcomes of these courses against best international practice is an
important requirement for the providers of these Start Your Own Business courses.
The attrition rate for new companies within the ?rst ?ve years is high (52% failed within ?ve years
of starting up, according to CSO data for the period 2007 to 2012). This suggests there is a
strong need to ensure that the framework conditions and targeted actions for entrepreneurship
support the long term survival and sustainable growth of high quality businesses. This Policy
Statement, therefore, seeks to put as much emphasis on new startup sustainability as it does
on facilitating increases in the numbers of startups. Entrepreneurs need to be encouraged to
recognise quickly if a business idea is not working, to learn from their experience and to try again.
Appropriate supports bear fruit in terms of survival rates. Overall, the survival rate for enterprises
that are State supported (in existence after ?ve years) is high. This ranges from 68% in LEO
supported enterprises to over 85% for Enterprise Ireland’s High Potential Startups (HPSUs).
National Policy Statement on Entrepreneurship in Ireland 30
2.5 Local Enterprise Of?ces (LEOs)
Promoting entrepreneurship at local level is a key objective of this policy statement. The new
Local Enterprise Of?ce (LEO) structure combines the expert knowledge of the former County and
City Enterprise Boards (CEBs) and the business development expertise of the Local Authorities.
This new structure will be overseen by the dedicated National Centre of Excellence in Enterprise
Ireland which will ensure that best-practice will prevail across the LEO network. All 31 LEOs
opened for business on 15th April 2014 following the legal dissolution of the CEBs. The model
will ensure that support for the startup and micro-enterprise sector will be considerably enhanced
by offering easy access to a wider range of supports by tapping into the potential for local
authorities to use their reach to open up opportunities and solutions for startups, and by testing
and developing innovative approaches.
The role of the Enterprise Ireland Centre of Excellence is to provide strategic, administrative and
technical supports to the LEOs. The aim is to optimise the effect of the LEOs on the development
and growth of the micro and small business sector at local level, with a cumulative positive effect
at national level. There will be close oversight of the performance of programmes through service
level agreements and evaluations. Given the stronger connectivity of the LEOs to Enterprise
Ireland from both a policy and practical perspective, the progression of appropriate LEO
supported businesses to becoming EI supported businesses will become more structured and
coherent. In particular, the Centre of Excellence will develop and manage a formal client transfer
mechanism and play a lead role in linking high potential LEO clients to the Potential Exporters
Division in Enterprise Ireland. In addition, the development of robust and targeted metrics for the
LEOs as part of their Local Enterprise Development Plans will help them prepare their clients for a
more seamless transition to becoming EI clients.
The LEOs will also have a particular focus on female and youth entrepreneurship though such
initiatives as the Women in Business Networks, National Women’s Enterprise Day, the Student
Enterprise Awards scheme and the recently launched Ireland’s Best Young Entrepreneur
Competition. However, the LEOs will also be key drivers of entrepreneurship across society
through both formal interventions and initiatives such as workshops, seminars and promotional
activities. Their higher local, regional and national pro?le, the new tripartite partnership with the
Local Authorities and Enterprise Ireland and the new relationships and linkages with other State
Agencies and Bodies will all contribute to this broad societal focus.
2.6 North/South
InterTradeIreland is tasked by the Irish and UK Governments to boost North/South economic co-
operation to the mutual bene?t of Ireland and Northern Ireland. By encouraging better use of our
collective resources, InterTradeIreland helps to expedite trade and business growth across the
island and create an environment in which it is easier to do business. A cross-border approach to
entrepreneurship offers an opportunity for the entrepreneur to access resources such as capital,
labour and technology that can spark new ideas. It also facilitates growth and enables them to
gain valuable export experience that can lead to export activity further a?eld.
InterTradeIreland runs a range of initiatives and programmes for startups and SMEs on both
sides of the Border to help those companies develop their capability particularly in the areas
of innovation, sales and marketing. These supports include advice on capacity building, public
procurement, export development, technology transfer as well as assistance on research,
development and innovation initiatives. InterTradeIreland support SMEs across the island
to identify and develop North/South trade and innovation opportunities through business
programmes, research and statistics and networks and partnerships.
The main supports provided by InterTradeIreland are:
Sales & marketing
Acumen (sales & marketing support)
Elevate (sales development support for small business)
Go-2-Tender (tender workshops, training and mentoring)
Trade accelerator vouchers
Trade statistics website
National Policy Statement on Entrepreneurship in Ireland 31
Innovation & Collaboration
Fusion (technology transfer through company graduate-academic partnership)
Challenge (business transformation and strategic planning)
Horizon 2020 supports – voucher scheme and information service
Equity Finance
Business Angel networks
All-Island Seedcorn Investor Readiness competition
The work of InterTrade Ireland, which is co-funded by the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and
Innovation, is designed to build capacity and scale and encourage entrepreneurship in a cross-
border context. The challenges for developing SMEs in the Border Region and in developing
linkages and cooperation between businesses on both sides of the border generally, to develop
business and trade, are closely aligned with our wider ambitions for developing entrepreneurship.
A huge opportunity exists to build synergies between enterprises in both jurisdictions for mutual
advantage and to help overcome the challenges which have built up over recent decades.
The achievements of Intertrade Ireland, in terms of getting entrepreneurs engaged in business
development and job creation fully ?t with the Government’s wider enterprise strategies.
National Policy Statement on Entrepreneurship in Ireland 32
Key Actions:
Business Environment & Supports
Create a business environment, in terms of company law, taxation, regulation and
licensing, which makes it is easy to start and grow a new business and makes Ireland
one of the most attractive environments for entrepreneurship in Europe. (DJEI and other
relevant Depts)
Review and consider further amendments to the Employment and Investment Incentive (EII)
scheme to ful?l its potential as a non-bank (equity) source of funding for SMEs. (D/Finance,
Revenue)
Review and consider further amendments to the Seed Capital Scheme (SCS) to encourage
and support individuals to establish and work in their own companies. (D/Finance,
Revenue)
Develop an integrated licensing application service to help reduce the regulatory burden on
the enterprise sector. (DJEI)
Streamline Company Law obligations and compliance obligations so they are easy to
understand and execute. (DJEI)
Make it easier for a company to qualify for audit exemption. (DJEI)
Increase business types for which BeSMART is available to include construction and
agriculture. (HSA)
Promote best-in-class standards across the network of Enterprise Ireland, Local
Enterprise Of?ces and Údaras na Gaeltachta to exploit fully the enterprise assets of
their community and foster new thinking in the enterprise area
Each LEO will develop a Local Enterprise Development Plan for boosting enterprise.
Key targets in the local plan will be new business startups, business expansions and
jobs created or sustained as well as wider economic impacts such as exports, mentoring,
training and enterprise promotion. (LEOs)
Local authorities and Local Community Development Committees (LCDCs) will make
6 year Local Economic and Community Plans which will seek to promote economic
development and address social exclusion and economic disadvantage in local authority
areas. The LECP will seek to address community and local development responses to
employment, self-employment and social enterprise. (Local authorities, LCDCs, DECLG)
Each Leo will identify how it can facilitate hubs where startups can be established in a
supportive network before moving on to accommodate for the next cohort of emerging
enterprises. A key approach will be to build on the 100+ Community Enterprise Centres
across the country by implementing local protocols to ensure the LEOs are fully integrated
into the enterprise development plans of each county. (LEOs)
The Centre of Excellence in Enterprise Ireland will develop a competitive fund to promote
innovation within and across LEO’s to enhance the support environment for startups,
with a particular emphasis on regions that have struggled to achieve employment
growth. Enterprise Ireland will also publish a report each year on the startup environment
across the LEOs network, identifying areas of excellence and areas for improvement and
innovation. (EI, LEOs)
Initiatives will be developed at local and regional levels to encourage business to work with
LEOs and Údaras na Gaeltachta to support more startups establish, survive and grow (e.g.
through mentoring or networking). (LEOs, ÚnaG)
Initiatives will be developed to increase the ?ow of LEO and Údaras na Gaeltachta
supported enterprises progressing into Enterprise Ireland’s Potential Exporters Division.
(EI, LEOs, ÚnaG)
National Policy Statement on Entrepreneurship in Ireland 33
Údarás na Gaeltachta will implement measures to support early stage business
development with a particular focus on regional competitive advantage in speci?c
sectors, including cultural tourism, audiovisual and digital technology, marine
resources, niche manufacturing, food & beverages and creative language-based
services. (ÚnaG)
Stimulate and support high levels of quality entrepreneurial ventures which have
high growth, export, wealth and job creation potential
EI will aim to increase its overall level of startup clients by 12% to 550 over the 2014-
2016 strategic period. (EI)
Údarás na Gaeltachta will aim to increase its overall level of startups by 10% over the
period 2015- 2017. (ÚnaG)
Work with all supported enterprise centres (CECs, BICs etc.) to set out ambitions for
the cultivation of startups and to publish performance metrics. (DJEI)
Conduct an audit and evaluation of the quality and outcomes of the Start Your Own
Business Courses offered across the country. Benchmark the quality and outcomes
of these courses in Ireland against international best practice. (DJEI and other
Depts./Agencies)
Vigorously promote the full range of supports to startups under the Action Plan for
Jobs brand to ensure startups are aware of and avail of the full range of available
supports. (DJEI)
The CEDRA Interdepartmental Group and other agencies will develop entrepreneurial
activities in rural areas. (CEDRA, LEOs, EI)
National Policy Statement on Entrepreneurship in Ireland 34
There are
huge inter-
dependencies
between
entrepreneurship
and innovation
policies
Innovation
3
There are huge inter-dependencies between entrepreneurship and
innovation policies. Entrepreneurs need access to innovative ideas,
products, processes and services. Equally, innovative products,
processes and services need entrepreneurs who are prepared to
take risks and develop appropriate business strategies to bring ideas
to market. Both entrepreneurship and innovation are associated
with “doing something new” and policies can be mutually reinforcing
in re-creating economic dynamism. Therefore, maintaining and
increasing our capacity for innovation requires fundamental support
for entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial innovation.
Enterprise Ireland works with entrepreneurs and innovative startups at all stages of growth,
partnering with the LEOs, the universities and the Institutes of Technology to bring together the
State’s support structures in a way that works for the entrepreneur.
The Government funds Campus Incubation facilities on every university and Institute of
Technology and these accommodate over 350 companies and over 1,500 people.
Increasing company participation in industry/academic collaborative projects continues to be a
challenge. Creating a collaborative environment between industry and academia is an important
element in the entrepreneurship ecosystem.
3.1 Innovation Supports
Entrepreneurs can access a range of pre-investment supports from Enterprise Ireland or their
Local Enterprise Of?ce which enable them to investigate the viability and potential of a business
idea and to develop their business proposition. Supports available to entrepreneurs include:
New Frontiers Programme
A national incubation programme hosted by the Institutes of Technology that offers participants a
package of supports to help accelerate their business development and to equip them with the
skills to successfully start and grow a company.
Competitive Feasibility Funds
Aimed at assisting entrepreneurs to investigate the viability of a new growth orientated business
that can succeed in global markets. The focus is on developing new businesses that can move
beyond the domestic market and demonstrate real potential for internationalisation.
HPSU Feasibility Study
Used to investigate the viability and potential of an innovative/high potential startup and the
development of an Investor-ready Business Plan.
When companies have a well-developed business plan and are “investor-ready” they can also
access the following supports to facilitate the implementation of company business plans:
National Policy Statement on Entrepreneurship in Ireland 35
Competitive Start Fund
In the initial phase, early-stage startup companies can face dif?culties in raising external ?nancing.
The CSF aims to assist startups to bridge this gap and quickly validate their market.
Innovative HPSU Programme
Allows Enterprise Ireland to offer equity investment to HPSU clients on a co-funded basis to
support the implementation of a company’s business plans. First time and follow-on equity
investments in HPSUs are supported under this offer. Enterprise Ireland can help companies by
providing information on the main sources of private investment.
These are all important programmes which can also be used to foster more diversity of
entrepreneurial activity eg. by targeting calls for females, speci?c industry sectors and age
cohorts.
Encouraging and supporting innovation and research collaboration is a core mission driven by a
range of programmes designed to meet company needs at various stages of development, from
Innovation Vouchers worth €5,000 to Innovation Partnerships worth €250,000. These schemes
help Irish-based companies that are working with Irish research institutes to access the expertise
and resources they need to develop new and improved products, processes, services, and to
generate new knowledge and know-how.
Enterprise Ireland has committed to redeveloping its Innovation Partnership Programme with a
view to encouraging additional smaller collaborative research projects between companies and
researchers in HEIs by facilitating smaller ‘right-sized’ projects for companies to address speci?c
individual industry needs.
3.2 High Potential Startups
High Potential Startups, also known as High Growth Innovative Startups, are a global
phenomenon. There has been an explosion in the number of startups worldwide and countries
and cities are competing to attract the best. There is also a growing debate internationally
amongst business founders, venture capitalists and Governments about how to scale this
generation of startups.
The Irish experience of growing companies from foundation to scale is that it is a relatively slow
process, with the journey to €5 million turnover being the longest stretch, even for high-tech
startups. While the ‘high-tech Silicon Valley’ model suggests a much faster trajectory is possible,
few high-tech startups conceived outside the U.S. – more speci?cally, outside Silicon Valley –
have evolved into even medium size global companies within short timeframes. Enterprise Ireland
is responsible for supporting HPSU companies. HPSUs are startup businesses with the potential
to develop an innovative product or service for sale on international markets and the potential
to create 10 jobs and €1 million in sales within three to four years of starting up. Quite a high
proportion of Irish HPSUs struggle to reach the revenue milestones and scale hoped for them.
That said, Enterprise Ireland’s experiences is that with appropriate mentoring and other supports,
the length of time successful Irish startups are taking to reach key revenue milestones is reducing.
Enterprise Ireland is focussing on capability building post seed funding to accelerate the number
of companies achieving key revenue milestones and the speed at which these are achieved. It
will devote more resources to those businesses demonstrating their potential to achieve scale
within three to ?ve years. These companies will receive a range of additional supports, including
management development, peer-to-peer support and mentoring to build their capability to realise
their scaling potential. These efforts are expected to deliver a signi?cant increase in the number of
HPSUs reaching sales of over €1 million within three years. The proportion of HPSUs achieving
this goal is expected to rise from 20% HPSUs in 2013 to 30% by 2016.
3.3 Innovation in Services & Business Processes
The Entrepreneurship Forum Report recognises that innovation is -
“’about continuously seeking to improve product, service, operations, people, or any other facet
of a business that will add value for the customer and the work?ow.”
This was also recognised by the National Research Prioritisation exercise which identi?ed
Innovation in Services and Business Processes (ISBP) as one of the 14 priority areas for targeted
funding and support.
National Policy Statement on Entrepreneurship in Ireland 36
Advances in technology have created new opportunities for companies to innovate their service
delivery and business processes. These opportunities include new monetising models, new
channels for service delivery and improved customer experiences. The vision for ISBP is to
capture customer centric innovation that combines non-technological and technological know-
how in order to conceive and develop new globally successful operating models, products and
business services. Any gaps in the system will be identi?ed and ?lled to ensure that ISBP in
Ireland is aligned with international best practice.
3.4 Science, Technology & Innovation
Irish Science, Technology & Innovation policy has evolved over recent years with an increase
in focus on accelerating the economic and societal impact of public investment in research
and greater emphasis on further increasing industry/academic collaborations and the
commercialisation of research. This is re?ected in a range of new initiatives, including:
Targeting public investment in research in areas which demonstrate a clear industry need
and competitive market opportunity.
Extending Science Foundation Ireland’s (SFI) mandate to include applied research and
increasing industry participation in SFI centres (30% industry contribution, cash and in-
kind)
The introduction of SFI’s industry Fellowship Scheme, which facilitates two-way exchanges
between researchers and enterprise, and the Irish Research Council’s Employment-Based
Postgraduate Programme (PhD and Masters).
The publication of an Intellectual Property Protocol designed to make it easier for business
to engage with academics by providing clarity and certainty around how IP emerging from
the research should be handled.
The establishment of Knowledge Transfer Ireland (KTI) as a central reference point for
entrepreneurs, investors and industry, signposting them to the wealth of technology
opportunities and research talent that exist in Research Performing Organisations.
These initiatives are aimed at deriving improved impact from the substantial resources invested
in the innovation policy area – research centres, technology centres, campus incubators etc. A
key indicator of success will be an increased ?ow of new enterprises exploiting technological
opportunities.
3.5 Horizon 2020
The National Support Network for Horizon 2020 is focussed on ensuring that Ireland continues
to perform strongly in the EU Research Programme for Research and Innovation. The National
Support Network for Horizon 2020 is encouraging participants to seek participation in larger,
more valuable projects. Ireland has set a target of winning €1.25 billion in EU research funding
over the next seven years. This is double the level of funding secured by Irish-based researchers
under the previous programme (FP7).
3.6 Intellectual Property – Contractual Issues
The Entrepreneurship Forum identi?ed contractual relationships as a challenge for industry and
academics undertaking collaborative research projects. In response, KTI has published a ?rst set
of model agreements and guidelines on its web portal. Combined with the guidance notes also
published, these should help companies enter into appropriate forms of contract with HEIs more
easily and accelerate the transaction process. KTI has committed to engaging with stakeholders
to consider the case for introduction of Easy Access IP into the Irish system for certain early-stage
IP, which could prove particularly bene?cial to early-stage companies.
This is intended is to reduce the barriers to risk taking in order to transfer IP rapidly into the hands
of companies well positioned to exploit it commercially. Other initiatives already underway to
address the contractual issues identi?ed by the Entrepreneurship Forum include:
National Policy Statement on Entrepreneurship in Ireland 37
Express Licensing
DCU has piloted short form licensing to the ICT sector in situations in which speed to
market and freedom to operate are the key IP drivers. KTI will consider how this process
might be rolled out alongside the Easy Access IP model.
Research contracts for Graduate Student projects with industry
KTI is working with the Irish Research Council to clarify how IP is treated in its Employment-
Based Postgraduate Programme with the aim of increasing certainty and security for
participating companies.
There is clearly a bene?t in making contracting between companies and HEIs as swift and easy
as possible. But changes to achieve this cannot be at the expense of contractual clarity about
the deliverables of such engagement and how any bene?ts arising from the collaboration will be
shared. Industry has indicated that guidelines issued by Enterprise Ireland through its Innovation
Voucher and Innovation Partnership programmes are helpful and KTI will use these as a starting
point to create collaboration guidelines speci?cally for startup businesses.
3.7 Increasing Inward Entrepreneurship
International competition for mobile entrepreneurs is intense around the world, with a number
of countries offering attractive incentives to very early stage entrepreneurs. Ireland has recently
reformed the Immigrant Investor Programme (IIP) and the Startup Entrepreneur Programme
(STEP) to further enhance their attractiveness to investors and entrepreneurs.
Enterprise Ireland has a dedicated team focussed on overseas entrepreneurship designed
to bring in new sources of HPSUs. Since this initiative was launched Enterprise Ireland has
supported 35 high potential start-ups that were led by overseas entrepreneurs and there is room
for further growth.
Changes are proposed in the Employment Permits (Amendment) Bill 2014, currently before the
Dail, which are designed to relax certain regulations on the issuing of employment permits. The
Bill provides that the existing provision requiring that at least 50% of an enterprise’s employees
must be Irish or EEA nationals may be waived for enterprise start-ups on the recommendation of
one of the State’s enterprise development agencies.
The Employment Permits system also gives priority to skills listed on the Highly Skilled
Occupations List (HSOL), which is closely aligned to the Expert Group on Future Skills Needs
(EGFSN) analysis. These skills include all occupations relating to ICT, including actuaries and
statisticians for the purposes of developments in Big Data and occupations in engineering,
?nancial services, medicine and the sciences where speci?c skills shortages are identi?ed.
Achievement the Government’s vision for entrepreneurship requires the development of a strong
entrepreneurial culture and effective networks in the education system for commercialising ideas.
These elements will play important roles in making Ireland an attractive location for immigrant
students, investors and entrepreneurs. Efforts to promote Ireland as an attractive location
for internationally mobile startup must be prioritised to ensure a strong ?ow of high potential
technology startups by immigrant entrepreneurs.
National Policy Statement on Entrepreneurship in Ireland 38
Key Actions:
Innovation
Make Ireland a location of choice for high quality international startups
Develop an integrated marketing programme involving Team Ireland (EI, IDA, Embassy
Network) to promote Ireland as a location for international startups. In particular to:
– Develop the programme of Startup Ambassadors for Ireland.
– Promote the newly reformed Startup Entrepreneur Programme,
– Promote commercialisation opportunities and entrepreneurship bootcamps among
high-tech targets,
– Promote the temporary relaxation in permit rules for startups.
Develop the best infrastructure to support the commercialisation of technology
as a new business opportunity (Knowledge Transfer Ireland; Campus Incubators;
Commercialisation Fund; Technology Centres).
EI will develop an Innovation Partnership service for smaller projects seeking to address
identi?ed industry needs. (EI)
The Innovation Services and Business Processes (ISBP) Advisory Group will address
the recommendations made in the Forfás report Assessment of Publicly Funded RD&I
Supports for Innovation in Services and Business Processes which identi?es how Ireland
can best support research development and innovation in ISBP under the auspices of the
Research Prioritisation Action Group. (Research Prioritisation Action Group)
EI will conduct an impact evaluation of the Campus Incubation Programme, including an
analysis of international comparisons to ensure it meets best practice and identi?cation of
any unmet industry demands. (EI)
EI will develop a startup module within the National Health Innovation Hub (which is being
established) to support innovations emerging from the health system. (EI)
EI will seek to increase the number of spinouts each year from Technology Transfer Of?ces
by 25% over the three years to 2016 against the 2013 baseline ?gure. (EI)
EI will seek to increase the number of licences from Technology Transfer Of?ces by 20%
over the four years from 2013-2016 inclusive. (EI)
SFI will target 120 licenses and 21 spinouts from the seven SFI Research Centres over
the six funded years from 2013-2019. (SFI)
Údarás na Gaeltachta will develop a Coastal Marine Innovation Hub in conjunction with
relevant State bodies. (ÚnaG, B.I.M)
National Policy Statement on Entrepreneurship in Ireland 39
Develop a support framework to assist innovative startups reach their
full potential
KTI will become a central reference point for entrepreneurs and industry,
signposting them to the wealth of technology opportunities and academic
talent that exist in Research Performing Organisations. (KTI)
KTI will create a searchable national database of licencing opportunities in
order to increase the visibility of research opportunities to industry. (KTI)
KTI will consider implementing a national Easy Access IP model and
the possible merit of rolling-out an “express licensing” model to transfer
IP rapidly into the hands of companies well positioned to exploit it
commercially. (KTI)
KTI will provide a suite of model agreements and supporting guidance
notes for business including speci?c ‘HEI/Startup guidelines’ to facilitate
the interaction between industry and HEIs, for inclusion in the IP Protocol.
(KTI)
Maximise opportunities presented by Horizon 2020. (EI, SFI, IRC)
A stable and
appropriate
supply of ?nance
promotes growth,
encourages
startups and
enables existing
?rms to expand
by exploiting
trade and
investment
opportunities
A stable and appropriate supply of ?nance promotes growth,
encourages startups and enables existing ?rms to expand by
exploiting trade and investment opportunities. It also brings
bene?ts to the economy by supporting business growth and
market competition, thereby generating wealth and increasing
the employment needs of businesses.
As the Entrepreneurship Forum identi?ed, access to ?nance
is always a critical issue for startups. To get their business
started many Irish entrepreneurs rely on either on bank
loans or on bootstrap ?nance – little if any equity, minimal
borrowings and heavy reliance on immediately available
cash ?ow generated by the business. Both approaches have
been negatively affected by the recession and early-stage
companies continue to experience dif?culties gaining access
to the funding they require to realise the visions of their
founders. In many cases the lack of a ?rst reference sale or
credit history are key barriers to accessing bank ?nance.
4.1 Access to bank lending
Banks will need to engage more deeply with individual sectors
of the economy and develop both relevant expertise and
?nancial products to support enterprises within these sectors. This includes improved access to
working capital for exporting ?rms and the provision of trade ?nance to business. Banks also need
to explore opportunities for increased co-operation with non-bank ?nancial institutions as a way
of ensuring that Irish startups and early-stage businesses have a spectrum of ?nance available to
them that is as good as that available anywhere else in the world.
The Government has introduced legislation to establish the Strategic Banking Corporation Ireland
(SBCI). Over €800 million in new credit is to be made available to Irish SMEs through the SBCI,
which will develop ?nancial products to ?ll gaps in the existing offerings by banks. The SBCI will
be launched in quarter 4 of 2014 and will commence lending by the end of 2014.
Skillnets, which is funded from the National Training Fund (NTF) through the Department of
Education and Skills (DES), launched the Building Financial Capability in SMEs programme in
2014 under its ManagementWorks initiative. This two day programme, which results directly from
an initiative announced in Budget 2014, is intended to help SMEs develop the skills they need to
improve their ability to secure business ?nancing. The programme will be delivered nationwide
to 1,000 participating businesses in 2014 and includes two days of workshops and two one-to-
one mentoring sessions. The Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation (DJEI) is funding
the programme, which will be delivered by trainers and mentors with substantial experience of
working with both SME owner managers, banks and other providers of business ?nance.
Access to
Finance
4
National Policy Statement on Entrepreneurship in Ireland 40
4.2 Alternative and innovative sources of ?nancing
More diverse sources of ?nance are needed to realise our ambitions for entrepreneurship. The
State has already undertaken a number of initiatives in this respect. For example, the seed and
venture capital markets in Ireland have tripled in size in the past decade, with almost half of
this ?nance coming from funds leveraged by Enterprise Ireland. Enterprise Ireland funds have
increased the availability, in particular, of seed funding.
One of the biggest challenges for businesses seeking to raise equity ?nance is to become investor
ready in order to increase their chances of success. In certain sectors investment funding is a
particular challenge. For example, the funding environment internationally for companies in the
cleantech and medical devices sectors is currently weak. Similarly, while there is an emerging
focus on next generation manufacturing startups and a broad recognition of their potential, there
are few experienced funders in the market to provide the risk capital needed to start and grow a
manufacturing startup.
Research in other countries indicates there is considerable potential in Ireland to increase the
range of alternative lending instruments available to startups, including peer-to-peer lending,
supply chain ?nance and crowd funding. These alternative ?nancing activities can be valuable
sources of funding to startup enterprises, either as a complement to traditional bank funding or as
an alternative if an application for bank credit is declined.
4.3 Micro?nance Ireland & Credit Guarantee Scheme
Micro?nance Ireland and the SME Credit Guarantee Scheme are State initiatives introduced
in October 2012 to address two categories of business experiencing dif?culties in obtaining
conventional bank ?nance. The Credit Guarantee Scheme facilitates the provision of additional
bank lending to commercially viable SMEs that either have insuf?cient collateral or operate in
categories perceived by the commercial banks as being high risk. The scheme provides a 75%
State guarantee to banks against losses on qualifying loans. Micro?nance Ireland provides loans
from the Microenterprise Loan Fund of up to €25,000 each to microenterprises that have been
refused bank credit.
Take-up of these schemes by SMEs has not been as high as anticipated and a review of both
initiatives is underway to identify the necessary actions to enhance the take up and impact of both
schemes.
4.4 Venture Capital
Venture capital is an essential source of funding for innovative and internationally oriented startups
seeking to achieve scale quickly. In the last 10 years Irish venture capital ?rms have invested €1.5
billion in Irish SMEs and leveraged a further €1.5 billion from international investors into the Irish
market. The sizes of the venture capital funds have increased and the skill set of Irish venture
capitalists has deepened considerably in recent years, thereby ensuring a sizeable pool of capital
is available to early-stage Irish companies. However, a shortage of capital worldwide for venture
investment is creating uncertainty about the level of future in?ows to Ireland.
The National Pensions Reserve Fund (NPRF) has been working closely with EI on the
development of Innovation Fund Ireland (IFI), a Government initiative designed to attract leading
international venture capital fund managers to Ireland. Venture capital funds that receive an
investment from EI have to invest a meaningful proportion of their fund in Irish companies or
companies with signi?cant Irish operations. By June 2014, Enterprise Ireland had made four
investment commitments through IFI with a combined value of approximately €80 million, out
of a total EI allocation to the fund of €125 million. By June 2014, the NPRF had made seven
investment commitments through IFI with a combined value of approximately €116 million out of
its €125 million allocation to IFI.
National Policy Statement on Entrepreneurship in Ireland 41
4.5 Access to Finance – Priorities under the APJ
Through the actions set out in the Action Plan for Jobs 2014, the Government is placing a
strong emphasis on implementation, policy innovation, monitoring and learning and on active
engagement with a diverse range of public and private participants in the ?nance arena. There
will be a strong emphasis in the future on broadening the range of bank and non-bank ?nance
mechanisms available to companies and increasing awareness of the supports available. Work
will also continue to ensure a strengthening of the linkages between SME capability building,
advice and access to ?nance.
Key challenges remain in terms of design features, which have limited the take up of a number of
State supported ?nance initiatives, such as the Seed Capital Scheme, Employment Investment
Incentive, Micro?nance Ireland and the Credit Guarantee Scheme. The Government will prioritise
work on improving existing supports and raising awareness, with a view to increasing the
take-up of the State supported ?nance initiatives. The SME State Bodies Group, chaired by
the Department of Finance, will continue to raise awareness of the schemes by promoting the
“Supporting SMEs” online tool (www.localenterprise.ie/smeonlinetool) in the relevant fora.
EI and the Business Innovation Centres (BICs) will continue to assist clients to become “investor
ready” and guide them through the fundraising process to enhance their chance of securing
funding. Efforts will be made to enhance Halo Business Angel Network (HBAN), a joint initiative
between Enterprise Ireland, InterTradeIreland and the Irish Business and Innovation Centres which
is managed by Dublin Business Innovation Centre.
4.6 EU Initiatives
Two speci?c EU initiatives include elements aimed at increasing access to ?nance. These are the
EU programme for the Competitiveness of Enterprises and Small and Medium-sized Enterprises
(COSME) and Creative Europe. Both of these funds will offer opportunities for accessing ?nancial
guarantees, with the former open to all SMEs and the latter aimed at SMEs in the Culture and
Creative Industries (CCI) sector, primarily the audio-visual sector and trans-European cultural co-
operation projects.
Creative Europe was developed in response to a widely held view that SMEs in the CCI sector
experience particular dif?culties in assessing the economic value of such intangible assets
as “novelty, soft innovation, copyright and creativity” and their failure to re?ect this in ?nancial
accounts. One of the aims of this element of the programme will be to help ?nancial intermediaries
gain a better understanding of the creative industries sector.
The budget for COSME, while comparatively small in relation to other enterprise facing
programmes, provides some opportunities for improving access to ?nance for SMEs and
augmenting the important support service delivered by the Enterprise Europe Network (EEN)
Ireland, managed by Enterprise Ireland.
The current support structure for SMEs seeking support in accessing EU funding
programmes is provided by DJEI in conjunction with Enterprise Ireland (National Support
Network – 32 National Contact Points drawn from ten agencies). As stated above, the EEN
Ireland of?ce is funded through COSME and will be a constituent member of the National
Support Network.
The rationalisation of this support structure across the two programmes will avoid an
overly disparate approach and should ensure a consistent/coordinated structure to secure
additional funding.
National Policy Statement on Entrepreneurship in Ireland 42
Key Actions:
Access to Finance
Expand the range of access to ?nance instruments to match our ambition as a startup
hub so that all viable businesses have the opportunity to access suf?cient ?nance to meet
their needs
Improve monitoring of the supply and demand for bank credit within the SME sector,
particularly, the high rate of refusal among micro enterprises, taking account of developments
across the European Union. (D/Finance)
Evaluate the Skillnets pilot Building Financial Capability in SMEs support programme with a
view to expanding the scheme. (State Bodies Group, DES)
Review the operations of Micro?nance Ireland with a view to enhancing its positive in?uence
on the micro?nance environment. (Micro?nance Ireland, DJEI)
Remove the obstacles that prevent the Credit Review Of?ce (CRO) from reviewing bank
refusals to establish better approaches by both borrowers and lenders and to ensure
bankable projects have a fair opportunity for funding. (D/Finance, CRO)
Promote the Loan Guarantee Scheme as an option for innovative startups. (DJEI, EI, LEOs)
Undertake a rolling review of new and innovative sources of funding for entrepreneurs,
including crowdfunding etc. (State Bodies Group – D/Finance & DJEI)
Maximise the drawdown of funding instruments under COSME and Creative Europe. (DJEI,
EI, EEN Ireland, D/AHG)
Launch six Competitive Start Funds in 2014, including schemes targeted speci?cally towards
female entrepreneurs, the aviation and manufacturing sectors and, for the ?rst time, towards
graduates. (EI)
Build on the success of the Competitive Feasibility Funds and launch three regionally targeted
Competitive Feasibility Funds (Cork, South East and Midlands) and roll out Competitive
Regional Feasibility funds to the agri-food sector. (EI)
Attract more angel and international venture capital investors and continue to develop the
domestic venture capital sector
Double the volume of angel funding over the next ?ve years through such actions as
reforming the Employment Investment Incentive. (DJEI, Intertrade Ireland, BICs)
EI and the NPRF (ISIF) will continue to manage the Innovation Fund Ireland programme to
support investment by international VCs in Irish companies and companies with a signi?cant
presence in Ireland. (EI, NPRF)
EI will issue a second call for expressions of interest under the Seed and Venture Capital
Scheme 2013-2018. (EI)
Ensure that the banks develop the skills and focus necessary to deliver appropriate
?nancial instruments to startups and early stage entrepreneurs
The Strategic Banking Corporation Ireland will make over €800 million available to SMEs
in the ?rst phase of its’ operations, using funds from the German bank KfW, the European
Investment Bank and the Irish Strategic Investment Fund. (SBCI, D/Finance)
Drawing on international good practice, the Department of Finance will continue to work with
banks to improve their internal review mechanisms and enhance the quality of feedback to
SMEs on credit application decisions. (D/Finance)
Raise the awareness of enterprises about their rights to obtain feedback from banks and
develop an agreed approach to providing this information. (D/Finance)
National Policy Statement on Entrepreneurship in Ireland 43
The
Entrepreneurship
Forum stressed
the importance
of encouraging
entrepreneurs to
create their own
networks to help
sustain startups
5
The Entrepreneurship Forum stressed the importance of
encouraging entrepreneurs to create their own networks
to help sustain startups. The Forum members advocated
a strong emphasis on collaborative peer mentoring,
entrepreneurial networks, investor-backed accelerators
and the evolution of new co-working spaces. They said
entrepreneurs should be challenged to establish such
networks with support from the State.
The Irish business mentoring ecosystem is highly diverse
with a wide variety of providers when compared to other
countries. It is largely State-funded and provided through
State agencies. While most mentoring is broadly based,
many approaches are tailored to meet sector speci?c
needs.
Mentoring ranges from ‘light touch’ standalone mentoring,
such as Vodafone’s Speed Mentoring initiative, to more
intensive and structured approaches. These include
mentoring which takes place over a de?ned period of time and with de?ned objectives (e.g.
Enterprise Ireland, County Enterprise Boards), mentoring to support entrepreneurs in advance of
seeking angel investment (eg. StartupBootcamp Dublin) and mentoring as a core component of
intensive management development programmes (e.g. Bord Bia, Management Works Skillnet,
CEB Accelerate Programme)
10
.
To further facilitate the development of mentoring for SMEs and start ups, the DJEI will develop
a simple open database to attract new mentors. A working group will implement changes to
broaden its scope (particularly including mentoring to help enterprises scale), to professionalise
its delivery and feedback and to develop innovative approaches, including an interactive and
searchable self-service portal for ?rms considering mentoring.
5.1 Networks
Business networks play an important role in supporting growth and innovation. Value creating
networks bene?t companies by maximising peer learning and providing access to skills and
expertise.
The LEOs operate a number of standing networks. These include:
Startup entrepreneur networks
General business networks
Women in business networks
Owner-manager networks
10 Forfás Review of Business Mentoring Services, July 2014
Entrepreneurial
Networks &
Mentoring
National Policy Statement on Entrepreneurship in Ireland 44
The most common are networks focused on women in business. These address the particular
issues facing women entrepreneurs and operate mainly peer-to-peer by business owners/
managers meeting as a group to discuss issues and share information. The promotion of
successful female entrepreneurs as role models and building the con?dence of newly emerging
female entrepreneurs are two important aspects of networking.
Enterprise Ireland launched Ireland’s ?rst peer-to-peer online networking platform for female-led
companies in January 2014. The platform facilitates greater communication and connectivity to
help the network’s members exploit opportunities. EI will roll out online networks to other client
groups in coming months.
Skillnets training networks combine the bene?ts of high quality, relevant learning experiences
with those of networking by companies in the same sector or region to share knowledge, ideas
and best practice. The 60 Skillnets networks throughout the country engage with over 10,000
businesses each year. Networking events include structured training programmes and a wide
range of less formal occasions for brie?ngs, seminars and social gatherings. Ensuring that startup
businesses are aware of these networks and are encouraged to take full advantage of them is a
priority for Skillnets.
5.2 Evaluation of Mentoring in Ireland
When mentoring in Ireland was evaluated in 2013, it was found that 176 organisations were
involved reaching about 21,000 businesses at an estimated total cost of €9 million (€5.3 million
Exchequer, €1.1 million EU). The key ?ndings were:
Most mentoring in Ireland is provided at the startup stage. About 14,000 business
mentoring assignments each year are with businesses in either their pre-start or startup
phase.
The number of mentoring assignments is higher than the number of total startups each
year, indicating a signi?cant level of activity in the pre-start phase.
Existing programmes are generally effective and generate greater impact when mentoring
forms part of an overall package of supports.
About 15 per cent of businesses in Ireland appear to have bene?tted from mentoring
from more than one source, availing of different expertise as they face different business
challenges/needs.
There is a strong consensus on what good mentoring entails: a time bound programme with
agreed SMART goals, clear responsibilities for both parties, structured feedback and the
recruitment of experienced entrepreneurs with the skills necessary for mentoring. The quality
of mentoring oversight and the metrics of performance are not yet well developed. Volunteer
mentors make up less than 10% of the total of mentoring services.
The 2013 evaluation of mentoring made a number of recommendations that will be progressed
by DJEI. The objectives for developing early-stage mentoring services in Ireland are to:
Improve the service quality, consistency and professionalism of all mentor service
engagements
Increase the scope of mentoring for established companies and the provision of specialist
mentoring, particularly for micro and small enterprises
Establish metrics and develop the capability to measure the impact of business mentoring.
The key measures of success for mentoring interventions should be evidence of:
Strengthening enterprise capability at the ?rm level to deliver increased sales and jobs
Increased focus on competitiveness and productivity to deliver sustained results
Improved sustainability and resilience of Irish businesses
Increased ambition to think globally, to innovate and to internationalise.
National Policy Statement on Entrepreneurship in Ireland 45
5.3 Approach to Partnership
This Policy Statement acknowledges that no single Government Department can address the
multifaceted challenges facing startups in the 21st century. Developing solutions to address these
and to support a truly entrepreneurial Ireland requires collaboration amongst all stakeholders,
across and within the public sector, industry representative bodies, the business sector and even,
in terms of cultural change, society as a whole.
This approach also acknowledges that people in business are increasingly demonstrating their
willingness to do more, directly and indirectly, to support the startup community and to enhance
the spirit of entrepreneurship within every region in Ireland. The increasing desire and capability
of the main stakeholders to support other entrepreneurs and to act collectively presents many
opportunities and signals a new era for entrepreneurship in Ireland.
Through this Policy Statement, the Government underscores its commitment to reinvigorate
entrepreneurship and to support collaborative actions to promote a strong entrepreneurial
mind-set, which will in turn increase economic opportunity, business creation and employment.
Strengthening the linkages between the main stakeholders and supporting and identifying
mechanisms for cooperation and knowledge sharing will be a key focus of our efforts.
The Government will support the constructive evolution of collaborative approaches between the
private sector and the public sector to facilitate peer learning and knowledge sharing with the
aim of developing entrepreneurial capacity. To this end, we have identi?ed a number of speci?c
actions which can be driven by the private sector in association with industry representative
organisations.
5.3.1 Business Innovation Centres
The Irish EC-Business and Innovation Centres (EC-BICS) are specialist providers in the
Government’s portfolio of supports to Irish Industry. The BICs deploy services from the regional
capital cities (Cork, Derry, Dublin, Galway and Waterford), delivering the key enablers for job
creation in the innovative startup and early stage SME market to an EC Accredited Quality
Standard. The Irish BICs support the validation and “investor ready” business planning needs of
Irish startups. To date they have developed:
Over 150,000 square feet of networked incubation infrastructure across the country in
Derry, Donegal, Dublin, Galway, Mayo, Roscommon and Waterford.
Ireland’s National Business Angel Programme, which to date has seen 157 deals
completed with a total of €75 million invested, of which €27 million was private investment
through HBAP angels.
The private sector supported Seed and Venture Capital framework in Ireland, including the
current AIB Seed Capital Fund, managed by DublinBIC.
The BICs have found that holistic and entrepreneur-centric support systems work best, with
solutions tailored to meeting the speci?c needs of the startup. But in general terms the following
requirements need to be met:
Coaching to help validate proposals with private sector capability
Incubation and connectivity with low access thresholds
Timely and ?exible access to startup and growth capital
An investor-grade business planning support service
Low cost, timely introductions to intelligent global networks.
National Policy Statement on Entrepreneurship in Ireland 46
5.3.2 Accelerators
In response to the popularity and demand for accelerators among startups, work will also
be undertaken on developing and implementing a strategy to support the development of
commercially managed accelerators. The key challenge is to develop the regional spread of
startup activity by enhancing the startup environment outside Dublin. This will include working
with local partners to develop targeted accelerators where gaps exist to enhance the quality of
startups, with a particular focus on the regional startup ecosystem.
Founders now have much improved access to best practice through accelerators and networks
of founders (e.g. NDRC, Wayra, Propeller, Dogpatch, and Health XL) and co working spaces
such as the Digital Hub and the Guinness Enterprise Centre. Companies such as Google,
SAP, Microsoft, Facebook, Dell and IBM are emerging partners with EI in supporting startups.
Through EI, the Government funds Campus Incubation facilities at every university and Institute of
Technology. These incubators house over 350 companies and over 1,500 people.
5.3.3 Co-working Space
The Entrepreneurship Forum highlighted the importance of the availability of co-working spaces
to support entrepreneurs. It recommended the establishment of a working group to develop a
policy for the promotion of the co-working model that would use unoccupied public and NAMA-
controlled buildings, and to work with the private sector to implement a pilot programme in 2014
to roll out ?ve 10,000 square foot co-working spaces in Dublin, Cork, Galway, Limerick and
Waterford.
Following discussions with various stakeholders, there was an expressed desire not to establish
a formal government led working group around this issue in light of the competing position of
various providers and potential providers of co-working space in Ireland. Instead an informal
network which includes representatives from the private and public sectors, including NAMA has
emerged which is helping to advance the concept of co-working space.
The priority remains to explore the potential for current and potential providers of enterprise space
to participate in various national efforts aimed at promoting entrepreneurship with the aim of
further promoting the co-working space concept and business model across Ireland, and to gain
further traction with both entrepreneurs and potential providers of suitable property.
Examples of sustainable co-working need to be demonstrated. Using available private and public
locations and existing enterprise centres, incubators and Business Innovation Centres may be of
some value in this.
5.3.4 Private Sector/Representative Bodies
As the Entrepreneurship Forum has highlighted, supporting a new wave of entrepreneurs and
improving the spirit and culture of entrepreneurship in Ireland does not lie solely within the
con?nes of State support systems. Nurturing, connecting, inspiring, supporting, celebrating,
promoting and expanding the entrepreneurship eco-system requires a collaborative effort.
There are many creative and innovative ways that the business environment for entrepreneurs
could be supported by different individuals and organisations across the country to complement
State activities. Indeed, many business people, entrepreneurs, companies and organisations are
already actively engaged in initiatives which support entrepreneurship. As the Forum said in its
report:
“It is through swarms and swarms of entrepreneurial leaders and their teams that we will grow
our economy. This battle will not be led by government, by one person or by a handful of great
industrialists. This battle must be championed by many and acknowledged and supported by all.
“The most effective experience in starting and building businesses is held by practitioners, and
Ireland is blessed by having a wealth of experienced entrepreneurs who have started and run
multi-billion euro industries and innovations
11
.”
Successful entrepreneurship in the longer term positively feeds back into the ecosystem, as
seasoned entrepreneurs often become mentors, advisors, angel investors, venture capitalists,
philanthropists, award winners and public speakers that serve to support and inspire others. The
strength of the entrepreneurship ecosystem will depend on an ongoing commitment from these
‘champions’.
11 Entrepreneurship Forum Report, 2013
National Policy Statement on Entrepreneurship in Ireland 47
One such example of feeding back into the ecosystem is Of?ceHours.ie, a business-led effort
in partnership with StartupIreland to increase the current rate of volunteer mentoring in Ireland.
Of?cehours.ie is a database of experienced Irish entrepreneurs who voluntarily give their time to
advise startups. Each mentor sets a regular time aside each week in their calendar, and startups
can book through a free online calendaring tool for a “once-off” advice session. In just the ?rst few
months of establishment in 2014, 24 highly successful entrepreneurs have hosted over 50 of?ce
hours of advice sessions with startups.
The business representative bodies can also play a strong role in driving initiatives to leverage
our existing talent base of seasoned entrepreneurs to further stimulate the support networks and
mentoring of startups in Ireland and reinforce a positive culture.
Another important way for businesses to enhance a supportive culture is to sign up to the private
sector Prompt Payments Voluntary Code of Conduct, which is currently being established by the
Business Representative Bodies in Ireland, supported by the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and
Innovation. Those who opt to sign the code will pledge to pay suppliers on time, within the terms
of contract, give clear guidance to suppliers on payment procedure, and promote the adoption
of the code. The State certainly has a role to play in developing supportive tax, ?nancing, and
immigration policies, providing accessible and reliable information, and aligning existing education
and social welfare supports to be conducive to entrepreneurial development. However, the active
engagement of existing entrepreneurs and the business representative bodies is essential to forge
and sustain a dynamic and productive entrepreneurial ecosystem in Ireland.
National Policy Statement on Entrepreneurship in Ireland 48
Key Actions:
Entrepreneurial Networks & Mentoring
Improve the effect of mentoring as a tool to support entrepreneurship
Establish a Working Group to implement reforms in mentoring (DJEI), speci?cally to:
- Create a simple mentors database to which new types of mentors (volunteer entrepreneurs
or serving executives) would be attracted. (DJEI)
- Test market on a regional pilot basis the establishment of an interactive searchable portal for
mentors accessible to all enterprises. (DJEI)
- Broaden mentoring services to support the challenges of scaling and under-represented
specialist expertise (sectoral, market, technical, internationalisation etc.). (DJEI)
- Improve the consistency and quality of mentoring against smart performance metrics. (DJEI)
Increase the number of peer networks for mentoring, angel ?nance and problem solving
which sustain entrepreneurship
Develop founder and entrepreneur networks working with the alumni of programmes such as
HPSU and LEO, and private sector initiatives such as the Entrepreneur of the Year programme.
(EI, LEOs, ÚnaG)
Build world class entrepreneurial hubs and achieve greater regional spread of such hubs to
facilitate entrepreneurial leadership
Develop and implement a strategy for commercially managed accelerators to support the quality of
startups and increase the number of innovative startups. (EI)
Work with enterprise and the wider communities and public authorities to develop new sources of
co working spaces and “hotspots”. (EI, LEOs, ÚnaG)
Use competitive funds available to the LEOs to seek proposals for entrepreneurship hubs at
regional level. (LEOs)
Údarás na Gaeltachta will identify and develop a number of pre-commercialisation units for startups
moving from incubation phase to market. (ÚnaG)
Údarás na Gaeltachta will provide property solutions to enterprises at their different stages of
development and invest in the redevelopment of the existing portfolio of enterprise space to
facilitate modern infrastructure and support services to build local capacity. (ÚnaG)
Private Sector/Representative Bodies
Grassroots efforts by entrepreneurial leaders to encourage continuous activities and events that
engage entrepreneurs will help develop a strong startup ecosystem. (Entrepreneurs)
Business Representative Bodies should promote and celebrate entrepreneurship and commend
entrepreneurs who have achieved success, particularly those to whom people can relate and aspire
to emulate. (Business Representative Bodies)
Business Representative Bodies should ensure active engagement in coaching and mentoring
programmes (public and private). (Business Representative Bodies, EI, LEOs)
Existing entrepreneurs should actively engage with state agency/business representative bodies
platforms for networking, forums for exchange of expertise, entrepreneurship promotional events
etc. (Business Representative Bodies, State Agencies)
All companies should be encouraged (by state agencies and business representative bodies)
to commit to the Prompt Payments Code of Conduct to ensure responsible payment practices
across enterprise in Ireland. (Business Representative Bodies, DJEI)
Business Representative Bodies should leverage resources from the entrepreneurial community
in Ireland for the promotion of initiatives to celebrate entrepreneurs (competitions, conferences,
internships). (Business Representative Bodies)
National Policy Statement on Entrepreneurship in Ireland 49
We need to
ensure that
new companies
learn to develop
products with
global appeal
6
Access to
Markets
Ireland offers entrepreneurs a small domestic market in
one of the most open economies in the world. Trade,
tourism and investment are crucial to future prosperity.
Although the international environment remains challenging,
there is signi?cant potential to increase activity in each of
these areas.
Particular issues do need to be addressed, however, to
support this activity. One is a shortage of experienced
people with international sales and marketing experience.
Furthermore, Irish exports are concentrated in a relatively
small number of sectors of business activity (albeit these are
major sectors) and in a relatively small number of export markets.
The Review of the Government Trade, Tourism and Investment Strategy, 2010 – 2015, published
in February 2014, developed a focus on key sectors of competitive advantage for Ireland in line
with the Action Plan for Jobs. This Review provides a refocused action plan under three key
themes – reputation, facilitating & enabling and winning business and jobs.
The Winning Abroad initiative under the Action Plan for Jobs 2014 will facilitate greater
coordination of Embassies and State agencies abroad, ensuring that we maximise the impact of
State resources in priority markets, giving them and Irish companies the best possible platform to
win business overseas.
Ireland has well recognised strengths and an international reputation for excellence in a number
of sectors, including media, computer gaming, food, education and design. It is important to
build on those strengths to encourage more entrepreneurs, businesses and organisations to
invest and to promote Ireland’s talents and reputation internationally as part of our enterprise and
innovation culture.
6.1 First-time Exporters
State aid rules prevent the Government from directly supporting any export-related activities such
as sales or marketing. However, support is provided to companies that are undertaking market
research, feasibility studies or who are participating in trade fairs.
We need to ensure that new companies learn to develop products with global appeal and start
marketing them internationally very early on in the product development cycle. Since 2012
Enterprise Ireland has sought to replace general trade missions with sector speci?c missions
whenever possible. These targeted trade missions allow companies to engage in peer learning
while also facilitating targeted networking events that enable clients to develop and build
relationships with international customers.
National Policy Statement on Entrepreneurship in Ireland 50
In 2012 EI established its Potential Exporters Division (PED). This division is focused on engaging
with Irish companies that are either seeking to enter overseas markets or to grow in exports.
It supports individual client companies which are at various stages of preparing to export.
Companies engage with PED through workshops and awareness events and are supported in the
development of a market plan for their priority target market.
6.2 Clustering Programme
Enterprise Ireland’s pilot clustering programme was established in 2012 to encourage groups of
businesses to collaborate to achieve speci?c business objectives, improve competitive advantage
and create mutual ?nancial gain. Projects involved a minimum of ?ve companies working together
to undertake feasibility work and to conduct market research. There is also scope for startups and
small businesses themselves to examine the potential for joint initiatives by groups of companies
exporting to the same market to share or reduce entry costs.
6.3 Public Procurement
Access to public contracts remains a challenge, particularly for startup companies. Access to
contracts from older indigenous companies and MNCs which are established in Ireland and their
supply chains is also a challenge for younger companies.
Enterprise Ireland, Intertrade Ireland and the Of?ce of Government Procurement are working with
the SME sector to facilitate and maximise the opportunities available from the public sector. The
primary focus is to raise awareness of the innovative solutions provided by Irish companies to the
public sector in Ireland, to primary contractors and to global government organisations, such as
the EU and the United Nations. EI is also helping companies identify procurement opportunities in
overseas markets and build their capability to compete for contracts.
In many cases the lack of a ?rst reference sale is a key barrier to accessing funding at an
early stage. Public procurement can be an important source of business for companies. The
Government is focused on a drive to encourage public contracting authorities to become
more open to procuring new and innovative products. The Irish public sector also presents
market opportunities as a reference site to enable companies to tender for and secure
contracts overseas.
6.3.1 Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) in Ireland
In the Action Plan for Jobs 2013, the Government committed to assessing the feasibility of
introducing a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) type programme across Government
to develop the concept of ‘Ireland as a Test-Bed’. The SBIR programme is a two stage pre-
commercial procurement scheme aimed at procuring the development of products and services
to address public sector challenges and needs in a market where there is not a ready-made
appropriate solution available. The purpose of the SBIR programme is to offer an opportunity
for businesses, particularly early-stage companies, to develop and demonstrate technology,
supported by a Government entity which acts as a key reference customer.
Operating under EU procurement rules, SBIR programmes provide a funding stream to facilitate
the engagement of industry with the public sector, and in doing so, acts as a driver of innovation.
SBIR programmes have the double aim of increasing the innovation capabilities and capacity of
the enterprise sector, in particular that of SMEs, while at the same time providing the public sector
with new, cost effective solutions, developed in a risk free environment, to meet their needs. From
the perspective of ?rms, SBIR programmes allow the development and piloting of new products
and services. It gives ?rms, especially early stage companies, valuable reference sites with major
government customers which in many cases can be leveraged to enter international markets.
The Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI), in co-operation with Enterprise Ireland and
ESB, launched Ireland’s ?rst Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) competition on 30th
June 2014. The competition’s ?rst target is smart solutions for charging Electric Vehicles (EVs)
in communal parking areas such as apartment blocks for which up to €200,000 will be made
available to develop the prototype.
National Policy Statement on Entrepreneurship in Ireland 51
Any proposed solution should be adaptable to cater for underground, multi-storey or other
privately run car park developments where EV owners will require access to charging facilities.
ESB is currently installing home charge points in private driveways for EV owners. However,
challenges have arisen where EV owners live in apartment dwellings with parking spaces remote
from the meter point. This SBIR competition aims to develop an innovative solution in this area.
The competition will be run in two phases. Phase one opened on 30th June 2014, and up to
four feasibility studies and contracts will be awarded in quarter 4 of 2014 (with a budget of
€25,000 each). Successful applicants will be asked to provide a robust, evidence based case
for the viability of their proposed solution (for example a desk based feasibility study with some
supporting practical work/data). In phase two, up to two successful studies (with a proposed
budget of €100,000 to €200,000) will be invited to participate in a prototype demonstration in
Spring 2015 with monitoring to take place over a 6-12 month period.
6.4 Private Sector support
Established companies can play a key role in the support of early stage companies’ access to
markets. There is a role for larger companies to help small ?rms secure contracts directly with
them or within their supply chain. Established companies can also provide early stage companies
with access to distribution channels, which can help startups leverage such channels for market
validation and endorsement.
Tesco Ireland’s programme with Bord Bia, for example, supports the agri-food sector by ensuring
that more Irish products reach shelves in both the domestic and overseas markets. Participating
companies receive tailored support and guidance to help them secure, grow and maintain a listing
with Tesco stores in Ireland and overseas. Since its 2012 launch, 33 companies have completed
the programme, achieving €16 million worth of sales to Tesco stores, of which over a quarter was
generated from purchases by UK stores.
6.5 Global Sourcing Project
The Global Sourcing project has been a major area of focus for the EI-IDA senior management
teams since its establishment in early 2012. In addressing the objectives of the Action Plan for
Jobs, the team has guided an in-depth strategic assessment of the opportunities presented
by global sourcing, and the development of a joint agency strategy to outline the core actions
required by EI and IDA to advance this agenda.
This joint strategy identi?ed the key sectors which can be addressed, while the ongoing
engagement of EI and IDA with clients is helping to identify those companies with procurement
models which represent the most addressable opportunities in the short to medium term and
those companies with the supply capability suf?cient to meet these needs. The ultimate objective
is to focus on the routes to market which have the best chance of converting to sales (and
therefore increased employment) in the least amount of time.
The Global Sourcing project is intended to help build a pipeline of opportunities for EI client
companies to sell into MNCs in Ireland and, based on potential, scale and suitability, sales to the
global supply chain of these MNCs. Over time, this increase in sales will have a positive effect
on the sustainment and growth of employment in Irish companies. Additional bene?ts are likely
to arise in the form of increased innovation between procurers and suppliers, while increased
integration of Irish companies into the MNC base may further embed foreign direct investment
in Ireland.
EI and IDA Ireland will continue to explore ways of encouraging the further engagement of
established companies in support of ?edgling businesses’ access to markets.
National Policy Statement on Entrepreneurship in Ireland 52
6.6 Online Trading
It is important that entrepreneurs take full advantage of the ef?ciencies and advantages afforded
by the digital economy. Some sectors, such as travel, accommodation, electronic goods and
services, have already been transformed by digital trading. However, other sectors have been
slower to adapt to the revolution being brought about by online consumption.
Only 23% of small Irish companies are engaged in e-commerce sales, implying that many others
may be missing important opportunities for increased competitiveness, growth and jobs. Startup
and smaller businesses operating in the domestic economy need to be encouraged to access a
wider market, both domestically and internationally, through online trading.
Taken together, the National Broadband Plan and the National Digital Strategy will assist and
incentivise greater use of online trading to access global web-based markets.
Trading online is a key initiative within the National Digital Strategy. A set of integrated actions has
been identi?ed to encourage Irish based small businesses to become active on-line in 2014 and
2015. A target of 2,000 micro and small businesses will be supported to develop their business
by trading online over this two year period. It is expected that an additional 3,200 jobs will result
from this programme.
The scheme was launched nationally in July 2014 and is being rolled out through the
Local Enterprise Of?ces, who have been supported by industry in the development of the
programme. It is expected that 1,000 companies will be supported in 2014.
6.7 North/South
InterTradeIreland provides three trade generation programmes focused on supporting companies
to access markets across the island of Ireland: Elevate Acumen and Go-2-Tender.
Elevate is focused on helping established micro enterprises take their ?rst steps in
exporting and exploring opportunities in a new cross-border market.
Acumen is designed to stimulate cross-border business for small and medium enterprises
that already have a proven track record in their home market.
Go-2-Tender provides businesses with the con?dence, knowledge and skills to tender
successfully for public sector contracts.
In addition to these, all companies, including startups, are helped to access markets through the
Trade Accelerator Voucher scheme. This voucher can be redeemed against the cost of practical
advice provided by participating expert providers in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland
to a company considering trading across the island.
National Policy Statement on Entrepreneurship in Ireland 53
Key Actions:
Access to Markets
Encourage local and national private enterprises to make a commitment to provide
market opportunities for ?edgling businesses
Promote the expansion of programmes through which retailers and other enterprises
can provide support to new businesses (e.g. to reach supply standards and access
exposure or shelf space. (Business Representative Bodies, EI, NSAI)
Develop global and local sourcing initiatives, particularly within clusters and continue to
work to attract international buyers to Ireland to source Irish goods and services. (EI,
IDA)
EI and IDA Ireland will explore and facilitate innovative ways for established indigenous
and foreign enterprises to collaborate in support of early stage companies in various
sectors. (EI, IDA)
Encourage local and national authorities to make a commitment to provide market
opportunities for ?edgling businesses
Encourage local authorities to support startups by providing display space, promotional
events and procurement opportunities. (DJEI, EI, LEOs)
A pilot Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) programme will be introduced in
2014 which will provide opportunities for innovative solutions to be developed to meet
the needs of public bodies. (EI)
Examine practical ways of highlighting the merits of the public procurement of
innovative products and services. (EI, OGP)
Ensure startups are export oriented in their thinking early in their development
Develop a pipeline of enterprises to enter the Potential Exporters Programme. (EI)
Promote a major expansion of online trading from the early stage of an enterprises life.
(DCENR, DJEI)
Roll out the Trading Online initiative nationally to support 2,000 companies over 2014
and 2015. (DCENR)
Develop an industry-led awareness campaign to promote the development of online
trading capability by small businesses. (Business Representative Bodies, DCENR)
National Policy Statement on Entrepreneurship in Ireland 54
National Policy Statement on Entrepreneurship in Ireland 55
Implementation
& Monitoring
Progress
Entrepreneurship has been identi?ed as a key ‘disruptive reform’ under the Action Plan for Jobs
2014. These reforms are high-impact measures with highly ambitious deadlines implemented
in partnership with senior industry partners and selected because of their potential to have a
signi?cant effect on job creation.
It is vital that action is taken to optimise the role of entrepreneurship as an essential source
of wealth creation and employment, thereby positioning it as a key element in the economic
growth agenda. This Policy Statement has set out the core objectives and signposts in order to
achieve our ambition for Ireland to be among the most entrepreneurial nations in the world and
acknowledged as a world-class environment in which to start and grow a business.
To drive this process an Implementation Group will be established, chaired by Department of
Jobs, Enterprise & Innovation, with membership drawn from the enterprise agencies and the
key collaborative departments (Department of Education & Skills, Department of Finance etc.).
This Group will have formal, structured engagement with industry partners and the National
Competitiveness Council. It will meet quarterly, with sub-groups exploring certain issues or
delivery as required.
The Group will report annually to the Cabinet Committee on Economic Recovery and Jobs.
Tracking Action Delivery
Considerable work has been undertaken in recent years to support entrepreneurs and startups
and the actions identi?ed in this Statement will strengthen existing supports. In view of the
signi?cant inputs of ?nancial and human resources from the State to support entrepreneurship,
it is essential that the progress and effect of these actions be regularly monitored and evaluated.
The National Competitiveness Council will support the Department of Jobs, Enterprise &
Innovation in tracking the various indicators that taken together de?ne the competitive position of
the national system of entrepreneurship in Ireland.
To this end, a number of different performance indicators have been identi?ed across the system.
The data for these indicators will by collated by DJEI in collaboration with the relevant agencies.
The attached tables of indicators are not exhaustive and will be supplemented as work is
undertaken on each objective area.
Benchmarking/Measuring Entrepreneurship
A comprehensive pro?le analysis of the national entrepreneurship ecosystem in Ireland will assess
current national performance against international comparators. This assessment will identify the
most relevant indicators and data for Ireland compiled across international benchmarks.
Many of the performance indicators listed below focus on output. The benchmarking exercise
will identify all relevant indicators that assess the quality and quantity of entrepreneurial supports
available in Ireland. We can then use this information to address the cultural, economic, and
institutional barriers that hinder progress.
National Policy Statement on Entrepreneurship in Ireland 56
Performance Indicators
General Business Indicators
Metric Source Baseline - 2013 Output - 2014
Number of Startups CSO 12,551 (year 2012)
Number of Business Deaths CSO 18,076 (year 2011)
Number of Incorporations CRO 15,506
Number of Liquidations initiated CRO 1,967
Survival Rates for enterprise at 5 years CSO 48.4%
The performance indicators identi?ed above are not exhaustive (for example the data on startups
and business deaths should be broken down by sector). Further indicators will be added from
international benchmarks such as the Global Entrepreneurship & Development Index (GEDI).
Culture, Human Capital & Education
The Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) provides an annual assessment of the entrepreneurial
activity, aspirations and attitudes of individuals across a wide range of countries, including Ireland.
GEM measures the involvement of individuals in entrepreneurial activity through a number of
stages, from aspiring entrepreneurs to nascent entrepreneurs and new business owners.
Participation rates of traditionally under-represented cohorts in programmes will be monitored.
Participation and progression rates in entrepreneurship modules in HEIs will be tracked to ensure
best practice and to support the expansion of successful programmes.
Performance Indicators
Culture, Human Capital & Education
Metric Source Baseline - 2013 Output - 2014
CULTURE
Aspirational Entrepreneurs GEM 14.7%
Nascent Entrepreneurs GEM 5.5%
Total Early Stage Entrepreneurial Activity GEM 9.2%
Public Attitude to Entrepreneurship GEM 50%
Participation rates in competitions/awards
Student Enterprise Awards applications from
third level institutions
Agencies
EI 400
Participation in LEO Best Young Entrepreneur LEO N/A
Participation in LEO Student Enterprise
- Number of schools
- Number of students
LEO
780
29,359
% of Females attending Core Training
Programmes
LEO 57%
HUMAN CAPITAL & EDUCATION
Numbers in Entrepreneurship Modules
across HEIs
DES
Unavailable at date
of publication
Performance across STEM DES
Unavailable at date
of publication
National Policy Statement on Entrepreneurship in Ireland 57
Business Environment & Supports
A wide range of framework conditions and policies can affect entrepreneurship, ranging from
tax rates and incentives, regulation, legislation, immigration, infrastructure and State-funded
enterprise supports. It is essential that the performances of these framework conditions,
incentives and supports are measured.
Ireland has developed an extensive range of supports for startups involving a direct spend of
over €100 million a year. Performance indicators will be developed to benchmark progress,
to compare best practice at home and abroad and to set stretch targets. These indicators will
include:
Performance Indicators
Business Environment & Supports
Metric Source Baseline - 2013 Output - 2014
BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT
Ease of Doing Business World Bank 10
EII Scheme Activity Revenue
Unavailable at
date of publication
SCS Scheme Activity Revenue
Unavailable at
date of publication
SUPPORTS - ENTERPRISE IRELAND
Participation in EI Entrepreneur Programmes EI 485
Number of HPSUs and Startups EI 189
% of HPSUs reaching €1m revenue