NATIONAL POLICY STATEMENT ON ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN IRELAND 2014 National Policy Statement on Entrepreneurship in Ireland 1 Entrepreneurship in Ireland National Policy Statement on 2014 2 National
Policy Statement on Entrepreneurship in Ireland 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 Offices (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 financing 41 4. 3 Microfinance 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
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 Offices Entrepreneurship Supports 65 Appendix 3-Global
Entrepreneurship Development Index Structure 67 4 National Policy Statement on Entrepreneurship in Ireland 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. Homegrown business ideas that display innovation and creativity will enable us to grow jobs,
and skills have been fostered in all areas of the economy, and played no small part in building our economic recovery.
and acknowledged as a world class environment in which to start and grow a business.
Enterprise and Innovation this segment of economic activity will continue to make a significant 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
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.
Building on the work done by Sean O'sullivan and the Entrepreneurship Forum this Policy Statement presents the six overarching elements
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.
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
Richard Bruton Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation September 2014 Foreword by the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Richard Bruton TD 6 National Policy Statement
on Entrepreneurship in Ireland Entrepreneurship1 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 first five years2.
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
Ireland, in turn, will gain a global reputation as a location for smart capital and as an entrepreneurial hub.
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 first five years by 25%(1, 800 more survivors per annum) 3
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.
The Entrepreneurship Forum has highlighted some excellent examples of this. Activate Dublin, Startup Ireland Startupweekend, Bizworld, Startups. ie, IT@Cork
and entrepreneurs working together to create an environment in which startups can truly thrive. 1 Defined 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 first five years.
Introduction-Vision for Ireland National Policy Statement on Entrepreneurship in Ireland 7 The Entrepreneurship Forum has urged also that existing entrepreneurs
and industry leaders should help drive the entrepreneurship agenda through mentoring, networking, electronic interaction and dissemination of information.
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.
however, the Entrepreneurship Forum is emphatic that the Government's role in this should be one of facilitation, not leadership.
and maintaining a business environment that is fit 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 Ireland3. 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 specific actions for each year, delivered through the Government's Action Plan for Jobs
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 8 National Policy Statement on Entrepreneurship in Ireland Entrepreneurship Environment Key Elements Entrepreneurship requires a range of skills
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 are4: 1. Culture, human capital and education 2. Business environment and supports 3. Innovation 4. Access to finance 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 23 4 5 Business environment and supports Innovation Access to finance
Entrepreneurial networks and mentoring 1 Culture, human capital and education 10 National Policy Statement on Entrepreneurship in Ireland 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 first influence 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 influences 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
That is why the provision of a broad spectrum of finance options, matching the different stages of an enterprise's development,
Business networks, angels, mentors, entrepreneurship hubs and hotspots all provide sources of practical experience and advice,
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
National Policy Statement on Entrepreneurship in Ireland 11 Key performance indicators and actions have been identified for each of the strategic objectives
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 23 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.
and flourish. 12 National Policy Statement on Entrepreneurship in Ireland 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.
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;
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 Offices 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 finance instruments to match our ambition as a startup hub
so that all viable businesses have the opportunity to access sufficient finance 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 financial instruments to startups
and early stage entrepreneurs. 5 Entrepreneurial Networks and Mentoring Improve the impact of mentoring as a tool to support entrepreneurship.
angel finance 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 fledgling businesses to find a market.
and national authorities to commit to offer opportunities for fledgling businesses to find a market.
and clearly developed value propositions and where appropriate are oriented export in their thinking early in their development. 14 National Policy Statement on Entrepreneurship in Ireland 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 financial 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 dampened severely 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 five year period was high. Of those started in 2006, only 51%survived five 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 20125. Not surprisingly, construction has experienced the greatest fall off in startups and the greatest attrition rates.
enterprises that had started in the five 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 difficult 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, reflects the difficulties for entrepreneurship which Ireland has experienced in recent years.
The GEM measure of total early-stage entrepreneurial activity6 (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 significant 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.
The 2013 GEM report also revealed a significant 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.
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
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%.
One in five of these entrepreneurs expect to grow their new business beyond a micro enterprise
Measuring Irish Entrepreneurship International Benchmarks Measuring a country's entrepreneurial profile is not a straightforward exercise.
whether the definition of entrepreneurship should include selfemployment 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 difficulties, 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,
Benchmarks are required to measure the impact of entrepreneurship and compare performance across a number of variables and between comparator countries.
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 first for flexibility and adaptability of workforce, attitudes to globalisation and investment incentives.
Ireland took first place in the 2013 Forbes'annual ranking of the Best Countries for Business.
Ireland ranked 19th overall and 13th in the regional ranking in the 2014 Global Entrepreneurship Development Index (GEDI
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 16 National Policy Statement on Entrepreneurship
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,
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
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.
including opportunity startup motives, belonging to a technology intensive sector, the level of education as well as the uniqueness of the offered product/service.
and the availability of venture capital. GEDI addresses many of the deficiencies of previous measures by combining some of the basic requirements.
The index is sufficiently 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.
The Global Entrepreneurship Development Index, is the average of the three sub-indexes. The 31 variables are listed in Appendix 3 of this Statement.
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 identifies America as the most enterprising large economy. The EU comes second,
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
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.
Latin america's high scores on attitudes towards entrepreneurship are undermined by its poor scores on the ability to capitalise on those attitudes.
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 profile 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 Product Innovation Process 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 18 National Policy Statement on Entrepreneurship in Ireland This analysis shows Ireland is performing relatively well in overall terms, with particular strength in such areas as human capital, internationalisation and encouraging
Stimulate and support quality entrepreneurial ventures that have high growth, export, wealth and job creation potential.
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.
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.
Create a business environment, in terms of company law, taxation, regulation and licensing, which makes it is easy to start
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 influencing both high and low performances in the GEDI pillars.
Using this data we will create an accurate picture of the entrepreneurship ecosystem in Ireland.
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 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 efficiency-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 profile 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,
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 Efficiency Driven Economy Continuous Improvement Key Focus Develop Innovation Driven Economy Continuous Improvement Continuous Improvement Key Focus The implied key
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
Benchmarking/Measuring Entrepreneurship in Ireland Conduct a comprehensive profile analysis of the national entrepreneurship ecosystem in Ireland to assess current national performance against international comparators.
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) 20 National Policy Statement on Entrepreneurship in Ireland 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.
The role of the education system in reenforcing positive perceptions of entrepreneurship is essential to bring about cultural change.
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 financial literacy and address skills gaps.
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 specific to female entrepreneurship:
Fewer role models; Less access to finance and lower levels of risk taking; Low self-confidence; Limited female networking opportunities;
and Lack of technical expertise. It is essential that potential female entrepreneurs are made aware of the significant 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 Offices (LEOS) were female.
In 2013, Enterprise Ireland invested in 103 HPSUS and 41 of these companies were led female projects, up from 16 in 2012.
The focus now must be to help these young companies to realise their full potential to achieve significant scale
and become major international businesses in markets across the globe. The Entrepreneurship Forum noted the need to address the entrepreneurial needs of the significant number of unemployed people in Ireland,
many of whom are young. Few business development support schemes in the past have targeted specifically youths. This issue is now being addressed with new initiatives.
As part of the Action Plan for Jobs, the Local Enterprise Offices 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.
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-àvis the national average),
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
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
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.
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.
Initiatives such as‘Senior Enterprise'encourage motivated older people to serve as voluntary mentors, potential buyers of or investors in businesses,
or businesses in transition. 22 National Policy Statement on Entrepreneurship in Ireland 1. 3 Education The Department of education and Skills supports enterprise in schools through the development of a basic understanding of scientific principles
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
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.
Audits and peer reviews can help embed stronger support for entrepreneurship. In a number of European countries (eg.
Estonia, Lithuania, The netherlands, Sweden, Norway, Wales and the Flemish part of Belgium) specific 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 specific national strategy for Ireland in entrepreneurship education in general education,
Encouraging and promoting an enterprise culture among the student population is an important area of activity for the Local Enterprise Offices.
Student Enterprise Awards-Second Level Exploring Enterprise-Second Level Bi Gnothach Enterprise Programme-Primary Level A strategy for the Further Education
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,
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 education9. 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 2014.9 http://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 specific 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 identification 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 certificate 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.
000 employment permits per year to experienced ICT professionals with skills in high demand. DJEI) 24 National Policy Statement on Entrepreneurship in Ireland 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 first 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
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,
identified 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
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 benefit 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.
and represents an important area of opportunity for entrepreneurial led growth. There are also significant 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 significant 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.
The development of the Wild Atlantic Way and other themed trails is an opportunity for the growth of small food and drink business clusters,
Entrepreneurship within this sector has significant potential to play a further role in Ireland's economic renewal.
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.
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 difficult 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 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,
and services. 26 National Policy Statement on Entrepreneurship in Ireland The Social Inclusion and Community Activation Programme (SICAP) will seek to further address poverty and social exclusion through front-line interventions
community and social enterprise supports as potential routes towards addressing long term unemployment and socioeconomic disadvantage. This work and its contribution towards self employment is set out in detail in the Pobal report Supporting Inclusion through Selfemployment.
who are supported via the assistance of the Department of Social Protection Back to Work Enterprise Allowance (BTWEA) scheme.
which combines the full range of services in supporting the development of an entrepreneurial culture in Ireland.
The LECP will seek to address community and local development responses to employment, self employment and social enterprise.
The Local Enterprise Offices (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
Therefore, strong cooperation and consistency among all of the actors is vital in support of enterprise in each county.
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,
the right conditions for entrepreneurship to thrive include fiscal policy, with both tax rates and tax incentives supporting entrepreneurship and influencing 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
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 first three years of trading in respect
of profits from a new trade and chargeable gains on the disposal of assets used in the trade.
National Policy Statement on Entrepreneurship in Ireland 27 2. 1. 3 Share Based Remuneration In private Companies Share based employee remuneration can significantly reduce fixed labour costs
thereby providing significant cash-flow benefits to an enterprise, particularly a high potential startup. The extent to which a company can avail of tax efficient share based employee remuneration relief in Ireland,
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
when that individual makes a relevant investment in a qualifying company. Neither the SCS nor the EII is used extensively,
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,
without any indexation allowance to compensate for the effects of inflation. These increases in CGT rates create a challenge for Ireland's competitiveness.
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.
It is notable that many of the countries with the fastest new business registration services
and to seven days in 2015.28 National Policy Statement on Entrepreneurship in Ireland With regard to registering for tax,
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.
The new system will be developed for the retail sector in the first instance and subsequently rolled out to other sectors of the economy.
and execute for compliant enterprises. The Companies Bill 2012 restructures, consolidates, simplifies 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,
this free on-line risk assessment tool is aimed specifically at Small and Medium Enterprises and has the potential to bring about €50 million in compliance cost savings for business.
more online facilities and first stop shop services. 2. 4 Supports Ireland has developed an extensive range of supports for startups.
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
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 the 12,000 startups each year the DJEI enterprise agencies provide direct support to approximately 1, 200 and soft (i e. nonfinancial) support to over 4, 000.
Direct support is made only available to enterprises with the capacity to export an approach which remains an important policy principle.
Recent reorganisation of the Local Enterprise Offices 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.
A wider range of performance indicators will be developed on foot of this Policy Statement to benchmark progress
Early intervention by the Local Enterprise Offices and Enterprise Ireland continue to play an important role in helping people to establish businesses,
Frontiers, workshops, networks and incubation and accelerator programmes. To improve the performance of startups further,
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 targeted actions for entrepreneurship support the long term survival and sustainable growth of high quality businesses.
Overall, the survival rate for enterprises that are supported State (in existence after five years) is high.
This ranges from 68%in LEO supported enterprises to over 85%for Enterprise Ireland's High Potential Startups (HPSUS).
) 30 National Policy Statement on Entrepreneurship in Ireland 2. 5 Local Enterprise Offices (LEOS) Promoting entrepreneurship at local level is a key objective of this policy statement.
The new Local Enterprise Office (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
and micro-enterprise sector will be enhanced considerably 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,
The role of the Enterprise Ireland Centre of Excellence is to provide strategic, administrative and technical supports to the LEOS.
Given the stronger connectivity of the LEOS to Enterprise Ireland from both a policy and practical perspective
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 profile, 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
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.
and develop North/South trade and innovation opportunities through business programmes, research and statistics and networks and partnerships.
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
Enterprise and Innovation, is designed to build capacity and scale and encourage entrepreneurship in a crossborder 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 aligned closely 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 fit with the Government's wider enterprise strategies. 32 National Policy Statement on Entrepreneurship in Ireland Key Actions:
Business Environment & Supports Create a business environment, in terms of company law, taxation, regulation and licensing,
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 fulfil 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
D/Finance, Revenue) Develop an integrated licensing application service to help reduce the regulatory burden on the enterprise sector.
HSA) Promote best-in-class standards across the network of Enterprise Ireland, Local Enterprise Offices 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 integrated fully 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.
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 specific 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.
Únag) Work with all supported enterprise centres (CECS, BICS etc. to set out ambitions for the cultivation of startups
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.
CEDRA, LEOS, EI) 34 National Policy Statement on Entrepreneurship in Ireland There are huge interdependencies between entrepreneurship
and innovation policies 3 Innovation 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 recreating 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.
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 Office
which enable them to investigate the viability and potential of a business idea and to develop their business proposition.
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 developed a well 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 difficulties in raising external financing.
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,
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
Enterprise Ireland is responsible for supporting HPSU companies. HPSUS are startup businesses with the potential to develop an innovative product
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
& Business Processes The Entrepreneurship Forum Report recognises that innovation is-'about continuously seeking to improve product, service, operations, people,
and support. 36 National Policy Statement on Entrepreneurship in Ireland 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.
in order to conceive and develop new globally successful operating models, products and business services. Any gaps in the system will be identified
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
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 inkind) 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 establishment of Knowledge Transfer Ireland (KTI) as a central reference point for entrepreneurs, investors and industry, signposting them to the wealth of technology opportunities
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 increased an flow 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
3. 6 Intellectual Property Contractual Issues The Entrepreneurship Forum identified contractual relationships as a challenge for industry and academics undertaking collaborative research projects.
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,
Other initiatives already underway to address the contractual issues identified 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
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 specifically for startup businesses. 3. 7 Increasing Inward Entrepreneurship International competition for mobile entrepreneurs is intense around the world,
Enterprise Ireland has dedicated a 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
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.
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.
Efforts to promote Ireland as an attractive location for internationally mobile startup must be prioritised to ensure a strong flow of high potential technology startups by immigrant entrepreneurs. 38 National Policy Statement on Entrepreneurship
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 identified 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 identifies how Ireland can best support research development and innovation in ISBP under the auspices of the Research Prioritisation Action Group.
including an analysis of international comparisons to ensure it meets best practice and identification of any unmet industry demands.
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) Maximise opportunities presented by Horizon 2020. EI, SFI, IRC) A stable and appropriate supply of finance promotes growth,
and investment opportunities A stable and appropriate supply of finance promotes growth, encourages startups and enables existing firms to expand by exploiting trade and investment opportunities.
It also brings benefits to the economy by supporting business growth and market competition, thereby generating wealth
and increasing the employment needs of businesses. As the Entrepreneurship Forum identified, access to finance is always a critical issue for startups.
To get their business started many Irish entrepreneurs rely on either on bank loans or on bootstrap finance little if any equity,
In many cases the lack of a first reference sale or credit history are key barriers to accessing bank finance. 4. 1 Access to bank lending Banks will need to engage more deeply with individual sectors of the economy
and financial products to support enterprises within these sectors. This includes improved access to working capital for exporting firms and the provision of trade finance to business.
Banks also need to explore opportunities for increased co-operation with non-bank financial institutions as a way of ensuring that Irish startups
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 finance.
Access to 4 Finance 40 National Policy Statement on Entrepreneurship in Ireland 4. 2 Alternative and innovative sources of financing More diverse sources of finance are needed to realise our ambitions for entrepreneurship.
the seed and venture capital markets in Ireland have tripled in size in the past decade, with almost half of this finance 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 finance 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
These alternative financing 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 Microfinance Ireland
and impact of both schemes. 4. 4 Venture capital Venture capital is an essential source of funding for innovative
In the last 10 years Irish venture capital firms have invested €1. 5 billion in Irish SMES
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 inflows 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 significant 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 APJTHROUGH 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 finance arena.
such as the Seed Capital Scheme, Employment Investment Incentive, Microfinance Ireland and the Credit Guarantee Scheme.
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
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 financial guarantees, with the former open to all SMES and the latter aimed at SMES in the Culture and Creative Industries (CCI) sector, primarily the audiovisual 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 difficulties in assessing the economic value of such intangible assets as novelty, soft innovation,
copyright and creativity and their failure to reflect this in financial accounts. One of the aims of this element of the programme will be to help financial intermediaries gain a better understanding of the creative industries sector.
while comparatively small in relation to other enterprise facing programmes, provides some opportunities for improving access to finance 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 office is funded through COSME and will be a constituent member of the National Support Network.
and should ensure a consistent/coordinated structure to secure additional funding. 42 National Policy Statement on Entrepreneurship in Ireland Key Actions:
so that all viable businesses have the opportunity to access sufficient finance 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
State Bodies Group, DES) Review the operations of Microfinance Ireland with a view to enhancing its positive influence on the microfinance environment.
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.
including crowdfunding etc. State Bodies Group D/Finance & DJEI) Maximise the drawdown of funding instruments under COSME and Creative Europe.
and international venture capital investors and continue to develop the domestic venture capital sector Double the volume of angel funding over the next five 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 significant presence in Ireland.
EI, NPRF) EI will issue a second call for expressions of interest under the Seed and Venture capital Scheme 2013-2018.
using funds from the German bank Kfw, the European Investment Bank and The irish Strategic Investment Fund.
D/Finance) Raise the awareness of enterprises about their rights to obtain feedback from banks
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
The Forum members advocated a strong emphasis on collaborative peer mentoring, entrepreneurial networks, investor-backed accelerators and the evolution of new co-working spaces.
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.
A working group will implement changes to broaden its scope (particularly including mentoring to help enterprises scale),
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 44 National Policy Statement on Entrepreneurship in Ireland The most common are focused networks on women in business.
Enterprise Ireland launched Ireland's first 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 benefits of high quality,
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.
Strengthening enterprise capability at the firm level to deliver increased sales and jobs Increased focus on competitiveness
National Policy Statement on Entrepreneurship in Ireland 45 5. 3 Approach to Partnershipthis Policy Statement acknowledges that no single Government department can address the multifaceted challenges facing startups in the 21st century.
and to support a truly entrepreneurial Ireland requires collaboration amongst all stakeholders, across and within the public sector, industry representative bodies,
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
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.
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,
National Policy Statement on Entrepreneurship in Ireland 46 5. 3. 2 Acceleratorsin 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 improved much 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.
These incubators house over 350 companies and over 1, 500 people. 5. 3. 3 Co-working Spacethe Entrepreneurship Forum highlighted the importance of the availability of co-working spaces
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
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,
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 Bodiesas 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 confines of State support systems.
Nurturing, connecting, inspiring, supporting, celebrating, promoting and expanding the entrepreneurship ecosystem 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 engaged already actively 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.
Successful entrepreneurship in the longer term positively feeds back into the ecosystem as seasoned entrepreneurs often become mentors, advisors, angel investors, venture capitalists,
The strength of the entrepreneurship ecosystem will depend on an ongoing commitment from these‘champions'.'11 Entrepreneurship Forum Report, 2013national Policy Statement on Entrepreneurship in Ireland 47 One such example of feeding back into the ecosystem is Officehours. ie,
a business-led effort in partnership with Startupireland to increase the current rate of volunteer mentoring in Ireland.
Enterprise and Innovation. Those who opt to sign the code will pledge to pay suppliers on time,
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), specifically 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) Increase the number of peer networks for mentoring, angel finance and problem solving which sustain entrepreneurship Develop founder and entrepreneur networks working with the alumni of programmes such as HPSU and LEO,
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.
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.
and celebrate entrepreneurship and commend entrepreneurs who have achieved success, particularly those to whom people can relate
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.
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 significant 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.
The Review of the Government Trade, Tourism and Investment Strategy, 2010 2015, published in February 2014,
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.
Since 2012 Enterprise Ireland has sought to replace general trade missions with sector specific missions whenever possible.
and build relationships with international customers. 50 National Policy Statement on Entrepreneurship in Ireland In 2012 EI established its Potential Exporters Division (PED).
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 specific business objectives,
Enterprise Ireland, Intertrade Ireland and the Office 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,
such as the EU and the United nations. EI is also helping companies identify procurement opportunities in overseas markets
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
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,
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,
From the perspective of firms, SBIR programmes allow the development and piloting of new products and services.
especially early stage companies, valuable reference sites with major government customers which in many cases can be leveraged to enter international markets.
in co-operation with Enterprise Ireland and ESB, launched Ireland's first Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) competition on 30th june 2014.
The competition's first 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,
multistorey or other privately run car park developments where EV owners will require access to charging facilities.
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).
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
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
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
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,
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 fledgling businesses'access to markets. 52 National Policy Statement on Entrepreneurship in Ireland 6
Some sectors, such as travel, accommodation, electronic goods and services, have already been transformed by digital trading.
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.
and is being rolled out through the Local Enterprise Offices, who have been supported by industry in the development of the programme.
Elevate is focused on helping established micro enterprises take their first 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 confidence, knowledge and skills to tender successfully for public sector contracts.
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 fledgling 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 fledgling 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.
Business Representative Bodies, DCENR) 54 National Policy Statement on Entrepreneurship in Ireland National Policy Statement on Entrepreneurship in Ireland 55 Implementation & Monitoring Progress Entrepreneurship
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 acknowledged as a world-class environment in which to start and grow a business.
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.).
In view of the significant inputs of financial and human resources from the State to support entrepreneurship, it is essential that the progress
Enterprise & Innovation in tracking the various indicators that taken together define the competitive position of the national system of entrepreneurship in Ireland.
Benchmarking/Measuring Entrepreneurship A comprehensive profile analysis of the national entrepreneurship ecosystem in Ireland will assess current national performance against international comparators.
and data for Ireland compiled across international benchmarks. Many of the performance indicators listed below focus on output.
and institutional barriers that hinder progress. 56 National Policy Statement on Entrepreneurship in Ireland Performance Indicators General Business Indicators Metric Source Baseline-2013 Output
initiated CRO 1, 967 Survival Rates for enterprise at 5 years CSO 48.4%The performance indicators identified above are not exhaustive (for example the data on startups
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 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.
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
366 ÚDARAS NA GAELTACHTA Number of startups supported by Údaras na Gaeltachta Únag 56 58 National Policy Statement on Entrepreneurship in Ireland Innovation Over the past decade
and technology to create an environment in which innovation and entrepreneurship can flourish. This investment in scientific excellence continues to have many positive effects,
including encouraging an innovative and enterprising economy, creating high-value jobs, attracting, developing and nurturing business,
scientists and talented people, and ensuring Ireland is connected and respected internationally. The recent evolution of Science, Technology and Innovation policy has brought a focus to accelerating the economic and societal impact of public investment in research
and increased emphasis on industry academic collaboration and commercialisation of research that will support a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship in Ireland.
Performance Indicators Innovation Metric Source Baseline-2013 Output-2014 HPSUS Innovative Startups EI 104 Number of Spinouts from Technology Transfer Offices EI
34 Number of licenses from Technology Transfer Offices EI 115 Number of Spinouts from SFI Research Centres SFI 0 Number of Licences from SFI Research Centres
SFI 0 Horizon 2020 Startups Supported EI N/A National Policy Statement on Entrepreneurship in Ireland 59 Access to Finance A stable and appropriate supply of credit promotes growth,
encourages start-ups and enables established firms to grow by exploiting trade and investment opportunities. Lending rates from banks,
number of deals-Direct Angel Investment-Number of angels registered in HBAP BICS 148 25
878,000 600-60 National Policy Statement on Entrepreneurship in Ireland Entrepreneurial Networks & Mentoring The strength of the entrepreneurship ecosystem will largely depend on the level of commitment shown by the private sector and industry representative
Performance Indicators Entrepreneurial Networks & Mentoring Metric Source Baseline-2013 Output-2014 Number of startups in accelerators
and one of the most open economies in the world, trade is crucial to our economic growth.
and to promote internationally Ireland's talents and reputation as a strong enterprise and innovation culture.
61 59 216 Numbers accessing Business On-line Vouchers D/CENR 25 National Policy Statement on Entrepreneurship in Ireland 61 Appendices 62 National Policy
Statement on Entrepreneurship in Ireland Programme/Fund and Objective Number of Projects Funding Areas of strategic Focus 2014-2016 Developing the Proposition Enterprisestart Workshops:
Provide entrepreneurs with comprehensive information to understand the business development process including the key success factors and potential pitfalls as well as an outline of financial supports available from Enterprise Ireland and Local Enterprise Office. 2011: 264
and other stakeholders to implement the recommendations of the Forfás Review of Business Mentoring Services in Ireland.
Enterprise Ireland Entrepreneurship Supports National Policy Statement on Entrepreneurship in Ireland 63 Programme/Fund and Objective Number of Projects Funding Areas of strategic Focus 2014
and potential of an innovative/high potential startup and the development of an Investor Ready Business plan. 2012: 138 projects supported 2012:
Enterprise Ireland offers equity investment to HPSU clients, on a co-funded basis to support the implementation of company business plans.
Any Enterprise Ireland investment needs to be matched by at least a similar amount of investment by the promoters and/or other investors.
Enterprise Ireland can help companies by providing information on the main sources of private investment.
€21. 7m approved 64 National Policy Statement on Entrepreneurship in Ireland Programme/Fund and Objective Number of Projects Funding Areas of strategic Focus 2014-2016
Drives the commercialisation of research from higher education research institutions by supporting the development of innovations at all stages of the commercial pipeline to the point where they can be commercialised as new products, services and companies. 2011: 79 Projects 2011:
Foster entrepreneurship and campus company activity by providing an essential transitional space between the research and business worlds. 355 Companies 2011:
500 are employed people directly in incubator companies. A review of the Incubator programme is currently underway to evaluate the impact of this investment to date
and to identify any unmet industry demands in this area. 2012: No approvals 2013: €2. 0m approved Programme/Fund and Objective Number of Projects Funding Areas of strategic Focus 2014-2016 Community Enterprise Centres:
Provide entrepreneurs with business space in a supportive environment with the aim developing entrepreneurship in both urban and rural locations.
CECS accommodate 1, 214 companies employing 6, 051 staff. 167 centres have been approved for financial support (of which 117 have been completed)(*10 centres were supported not by EI for a capital build) €64m approved over 4 schemes
since 1989 Additional measures are under review, however a key approach being introduced is to build on the existence of the centres by ensuring protocols are in place at local level with LEOS to ensure they are integrated fully into the enterprise development plans for each county.
Seed & Venture capital Scheme: Aims to increase the availability of risk capital for SMES to support economic growth through the continued development of the Seed
and Venture capital Sector in Ireland to achieve a more robust, commercially viable and sustainable sector. 2011: 116 investments;
of which 82 in Irish companies 2011: €42m invested in Irish companies. The cost to the exchequer under the SVC schemes was €12m Enterprise Ireland is working to close funds
and support them to commence investment under the first call for expressions of interest under the Seed and Venture capital Scheme 2013-2018.
Further calls will be issued over this period and work will commence to define the sectoral and stage of development focus of those calls for expressions of interest in the near term.
A public consultation exercise has concluded.**2012: 135 investments; of which 84 in Irish companies 2012: €54m invested in Irish companies.
The cost to the exchequer under the SVC schemes was €14m 2013: 153 investments; of which 94 in Irish companies 2013:
€59m invested in Irish companies. The cost to the exchequer under the SVC schemes was €15m*Enterprise Ireland makes commitments to VC funds under the Seed
and Venture capital Schemes and minimum of those commitments are invested in Irish companies. The funds do
however also make non Irish investments. National Policy Statement on Entrepreneurship in Ireland 65 Appendix 2:
Local Enterprise Offices Entrepreneurship Supports LOCAL ENTERPRISE OFFICES ENTREPRENEURSHIP SUPPORTS CEB total 2013 LEO total 2014 (target) Employment Jobs Created 1
, 522 Jobs Sustained 20,478 Total Employment new portfolio 20,478 22,000 Grants (M1 & M2) Feasibility Applications approved (number) 188 156 Feasibility
Applications approved (value) €1, 449,059 tbd Priming Grant application approved (number) 414 413 Priming Grant application approved (value) €8, 661,395
development impacts (EI evaluation feedback) n/a n/a Hi-Start Numbers run 1 2 Participant numbers 14 43 No. of investment ready business plans
obtained 35 66 National Policy Statement on Entrepreneurship in Ireland Pathway Progression Client Transfers (number) n/a 47 Client Transfers from EI (number) n/a 30
EI Services Accessed Market research Centre (referral numbers) n/a 45 Overseas Office (referral numbers) n/a 26 Innovation Vouchers (approved numbers) n/a 150
912 (54.39%)Numbers starting own business n/a n/a Student Enterprise Schools participating (number) 780 593 Applicants/Participants (number) 29,359 23,359
National Enterprise Awards Number of Clients participating 47 (incomplete information) 94 (incomplete information) LOCAL ENTERPRISE OFFICES ENTREPRENEURSHIP SUPPORTS CEB total 2013 LEO
387 Group 233 324 National Policy Statement on Entrepreneurship in Ireland 67 Entrepreneurial Aspirations Sub-Index Risk capital Informal Depth of Capital Internationalization Export
-Index Competition Competitors Market Dominance Human Capital Educational Level Staff Training Technology Absorption Technology Level Tech Absorption Gender Female Opportunity
TEA Female Opportunity Start-up Opportunity Freedom Entrepreneurial Attitudes Sub-Index Cultural Support Career Status Corruption Networking Know Entrepreneurs Internet Usage Risk Acceptance
Risk Acceptance Business Risk Start-up Skills Skill Perception Tertiary education Opportunity Perception Opportunity Market Agglomeration Note:
Global Entrepreneurship Development Index (GEDI) Structure 68 National Policy Statement on Entrepreneurship in Ireland BICS Business Innovation Centres BIM Bord Iascaigh Mhara
, Food and the Marine DAHG Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht DCENR Department of Communications, Energy and Natural resources DECLG Department of Environment, Community and Local government DES Department of education and Skills
DJEI Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation DSP Department of Social Protection DTTAS Department of Transport
Tourism and Sport EGFSN Expert Group on Future Skills Needs EI Enterprise Ireland EIB European Investment Bank EIF European Investment Fund EIIS
Employment and Investment Incentive scheme GEDI Global Entrepreneurship Development Index GEM Global Entrepreneurship Monitor HEA Higher education Authority HEI Higher education institutions HBAP Halo Business
IRC Irish Research Council ISIF Irish Strategic Investment Fund ITI Intertradeireland KTI Knowledge Transfer Ireland LA's Local authorities LCDC Local Community
Development Committee LCDP Local Community Development Programme LECP Local Economic and Community Plan LEOS Local Enterprise Offices MFI Microfinance Ireland NCC
of Ireland OGP Office of Government Procurement R&d Research and development SBCI Strategic Banking corporation Ireland SBG State Bodies Group SCS Seed Capital Scheme SFI
Science Foundation Ireland SME Small and Medium Enterprise STEM Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics SYOB Start Your Own Business Únag Údaras na Gaeltachta
Department of Jobs, Enterprise, and Innovation 23 Kildare St. Dublin 2 Tel:++353 1 6312121 www. enterprise. gov. ie www. djei. ie
Overtext Web Module V3.0 Alpha
Copyright Semantic-Knowledge, 1994-2011