Tag: #SMEs

Google launches dedicated AI training module for SMEs in Ireland

Widespread adoption of generative AI has the potential to boost Ireland’s GDP by up to €45 billion (8%) in ten years, according to a report conducted by Implement Consulting Group and commissioned by Google. The increase is predominantly driven by a productivity boost to two-thirds of Ireland’s workers. The report is part of a comprehensive study carried out between November 2023 and March 2024 that unveils the transformative economic potential of generative AI in the EU. Several countries, including Ireland, were analysed across the following areas:

 

  1. The economic impact of AI

  2. The impact of AI on jobs

  3. Key sectors benefiting from AI adoption

  4. AI readiness

  5. AI and societal challenges

 

Economic impact

The 8% increase in GDP is largely attributed to a productivity boost to the majority of workers (66%) by augmenting their capabilities and enhancing efficiencies. The calculation takes into account the impact of re-employment of a small share of workers. At its peak, the productivity effect of generative AI in Ireland is estimated to be equivalent to 1.4% of GDP annually. A five-year delay in capturing the benefits of generative AI is estimated to reduce the GDP growth potential from 8% (€40-45 billion) to only 2% (€8-10 billion).

Peter Burke T.D., Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment:

“AI offers the potential to deliver a step change in productivity and growth in business, including for our SMEs. Our goal is for Ireland to be a leader in adoption of human-centric, trustworthy AI, as set out in our National AI Strategy, ‘AI – Here for Good’.

AI technology is clearly an enormous opportunity, and we must act now to seize the opportunity in order to harness AI technology for the good of both our economy and society. I welcome the publication of this research and Google’s engagement to support Ireland’s small businesses.”

Job implications

Most jobs in Ireland (66%) are expected to be assisted by generative AI – automating a limited share of tasks and helping to create content including text, code and images, and collaborating with workers on complex problems. Unlike previous waves of automation that mainly impacted manual workers, generative AI is expected to primarily affect office-based professionals. An estimated 28% of jobs in Ireland are likely to remain largely unaffected by generative AI. These jobs include manual labour, outdoor tasks, such as construction and cleaning, and human-to-human tasks, such as personal care and food services. A small share of jobs (6%) are expected to have over half of their activities exposed to automation by generative AI.

Key sectors benefiting from AI adoption

The complementary role of generative AI means it can boost productivity across all sectors. Due to the vast size of Ireland’s manufacturing sector (45% of Irish GVA), this is the area that holds the largest economic potential, where generative AI is estimated to boost annual productivity growth by 1.2% at peak, representing an increase of €15-16 billion. In contrast to past automation, such as robots, generative AI has the ability to boost productivity in the service sector, and many other countries are expected to see the greatest economic gains there.

AI Readiness

When it comes to AI adoption in Irish enterprises, Ireland is on par with the EU average level of adoption at 8%, but lags behind Northern European frontrunners such as Denmark (15%), Finland (15%), and Belgium (14%). In terms of research and development, Ireland cannot compete with large economies, such as the United States, and will therefore be dependent on EU-wide initiatives. Current gaps suggest that Ireland needs to focus on strengthening AI-related innovation drivers, such as the build-up of AI-related talent and research.

Google has today announced a new AI education training pillar for SMEs in Ireland. ‘Get ahead with AI’ is a module offered as part of You’re the Business, Google’s digital upskilling programme delivered in partnership with Enterprise Ireland and the Local Enterprise Offices. The resource, available free of charge, provides on-demand training, educational resources, and tools to help SMEs use AI effectively for their businesses. More information is available at g.co/yourethebusiness.

Societal challenges

Generative AI can help us address societal challenges like climate change enabling Ireland to achieve its goal of carbon neutrality by 2050. Agricultural emissions can be reduced by AI, where machine learning algorithms allow precision farming practices that are more eco-friendly. It can optimise critical resources in the healthcare sector leading to enhanced patient care. AI can also contribute to  a more equitable society – early studies suggest that generative AI can help close the skills gap for those with the lowest skill levels.

Vanessa Hartley, Head of Google Ireland said:

“For the past twenty years, Ireland has been at the forefront of the digital age, embracing new technology and leading innovation in Europe . Today we are at an inflection point and we have an immense opportunity to ensure Ireland remains at the heart of this next transition to AI.

“It is not too late to be early with AI. At Google, we’re approaching this work boldly and responsibly and we are committed to ensuring that Ireland remains a digital frontrunner. Which is why today we are launching a new AI education pillar on You’re The Business  to help SMEs use AI effectively for their businesses. “

Martin H. Thelle, Partner at Implement Consulting Group:

“Ireland should seek to leverage the national presence of multinational tech giants by incentivising partnerships and mentorship programmes between these corporations and SMEs. This can facilitate knowledge transfer, provide access to advanced AI tools and resources as well as encourage the development of AI-based business models in the start-up ecosystem.”

Information on You’re the Business is available at g.co/yourethebusiness.

Urgent Need for Improved Data Utilisation Across Businesses, from SMEs to Corporations, TEKenable Survey Reveals

A TEKenable survey, in collaboration with Microsoft unveiled the urgent need for improved data utilisation across businesses, from SMEs to Corporations.

This survey examined the understanding, challenges, and implementation of Customer 360 across diverse organisational landscapes. The survey involved 201 SMEs and Corporations, with varying proportions across management levels and industries.

The survey results illuminate nuanced perspectives between SMEs and Corporations and disparities across management levels regarding the benefits of addressing challenges associated with the Customer 360 view.  SMEs, constituting 60%, exhibit a stronger belief in the significant contribution of Customer 360 to enhanced customer engagement while Corporations, at 40% are more sceptical, potentially influenced by the complexity and costs associated with implementing and maintaining Customer 360.

Management levels further reveal varying degrees of recognition, with the C-Suite and senior management holding a more positive view than first-line managers, emphasising the need for comprehensive education and engagement strategies.

The types of data used in business also vary, the survey found.  SMEs predominantly used transactional data (27%,) less frequently employing behavioural (10%) and demographic (8%) data.  Contrastingly, corporations showed a more varied usage pattern, with behavioural data (20%) and demographic data (10%) being more prevalent.

SMEs found Customer 360 most beneficial for financial decisions (77.8%) and service excellence (64.3%).  Customer 360 helped SMEs make more informed financial decisions by providing insights into customer behaviour, preferences, and spending patterns which helped to optimise pricing, marketing campaigns, and product offerings to improve profitability.  It also provided better customer service by providing a single view of each customer’s interactions with the company.

Corporations attributed significant impact to data-driven insights (63.2%) and campaign effectiveness (100%).  Customer 360 provided corporations with a wealth of data that was used to gain deep insights into customer behaviour, preferences and trends.  It also helped them measure and optimise the effectiveness of marketing campaigns by providing data on customer engagement, conversion rates, and ROI.

Concern about the need to protect data is also acting as a barrier to the adoption of Customer 360 with 58.3% of SMEs seeing data security and compliance as the main challenge while 41.7% of corporations identify it as the primary obstacle.

The lack of a single customer view is a significant challenge for SMEs, with nearly half (43%) of respondents identifying it as their primary challenge. Corporations als find achieving a single customer view a significant challenge, with over half (57%) of respondents identifying it as a major issue.

“From SMEs to Corporations, the imperative for improved data utilisation isn’t just a matter of growth – it’s about staying relevant in an increasingly customer-centric landscape,” explains Nick Connors, Group CEO at TEKenable.  “While our research shows that investment in Customer 360 is rising, education and engagement strategies need attention.”

A further issue identified by the survey was a widespread inability to make data-driven decisions.  66.7% of SMEs say this was their main challenge, while 33.3% of corporations share this view.

Google-led initiative to support Irish SMEs returns for second year

Google, Enterprise Ireland and the Local Enterprise Offices are renewing their partnership to help upskill Irish SMEs by launching the 2023 You’re The Business competition. This initiative will reward businesses across Ireland that have demonstrated a commitment to digital at different stages of their journey, from those who have launched a website through to those who are just starting to export.

SMEs will be invited to submit a video no longer than two minutes in duration detailing what their business means to them as well as an example of how they have used digital to enhance their business. Entries are open now until October 31st 2023.

The successful SMEs selected by a panel of established judges, will receive a digital support package from Google which includes a €1,000 Google ads package as well as expert mentorship across a range of technical areas that will help them to develop their business. An additional prize of a video creation kit will also be awarded to one SME that has demonstrated great efforts in promoting their business online.

Cera Ward, Managing Director at Google Ireland  said: “Google is committed to supporting Irish SMEs upskill. We were so inspired by last year’s entries that really showed how SMEs strived to get their business online and how being online has helped them to succeed and grow, both domestically and further afield. We are excited to launch this year’s competition and look forward to learning about more SMEs, their challenges, and digital ambitions. Google wants to support these companies as they take the next steps on their digital journey.”

John Magee, Chair of Local Enterprise Office Network said: “The digital transformation of Irish businesses is essential for their future success and the Local Enterprise Offices have been to the fore with a range of supports to enable businesses get online and maximise their online presence with the likes of the Trading Online Voucher and our Digital Start programme. We are committed to helping Irish businesses thrive in a digital world, and this initiative in partnership with Google is just one of the many ways we continue to support our clients on their digital journey.”

Speaking at the launch announcement, Caryna Camerino of Camerino Bakery said:  “Our website was designed to be our virtual shop window, allowing customers to customise their ideal celebration cake. Going digital meant that our online sales could continue smoothly while we grew the business and opened our new cafe in the Irish Museum of Modern Art. With Google’s help, we are now looking to reach new customers via online marketing, newsletters, and email campaigns”.

Entries are open now with further information on the You’re the Business competition available at: g.co/yourethebusiness

Deadline

Entries are open until October 31st 2023.

How to enter

SMEs to outline how digital has helped their business so far by answering these questions in a short video (two minutes or less):

  • What does your business mean to you?

  • What one change have you made to grow your business online?

  • What opportunities could growing online create for you?

SMEs will be asked to upload the video to YouTube – details on how to upload are here. All videos must be original content only (including use of music), and should be a maximum of two minutes in duration.

Evaluation

Judges will appoint winners based on the following criteria:

  1. Demonstrate how digital skills have helped their business to grow and succeed.

  2. Have an inspirational story about how getting their business online has helped them to succeed.

Google to host in-person digital training series for SMEs

Google has today announced a new training programme aimed at supporting SMEs in Ireland. You’re The Business Live Sessions, hosted in Google’s Dublin offices, will include five in-person training sessions suitable to SMEs at the early stages of their digital journey right through to those more digitally-sophisticated businesses who are ready to export globally.

The initiative is part of the You’re the Business programme, an initiative created by Google, Enterprise Ireland and the Local Enterprise Offices last year to help upskill Irish SMEs. The You’re the Business programme aims to help accelerate Irish SME growth through digitalisation, which is in support of the Irish government’s ambitious goals around SME digitalisation and internationalisation.

Today’s announcement follows recent Google Search data which found that Irish people are increasingly seeking to gain new certifications, particularly in digital skills. The last year has seen increases in searches for certifications in UX Design (+80%), IT Support (+60%), Data Analytics (+60%) and Project Management (+50%).  There has also been a 180% rise in searches for “artificial intelligence courses” over the last five years, with an increase of 150% for data science-related courses.

Cera Ward, Managing Director at  Google Ireland  said:

“Our partnership with Enterprise Ireland and the Local Enterprise Offices was devised following research last year that identified gaps in the digital capabilities of Ireland’s SMEs. It found that only 45% of Irish SMEs had a website while 50% said they lacked the basic knowledge about which digital skills to prioritise and invest in.  Irish SMEs need support which is why we partnered with Enterprise Ireland to launch You’re The Business last year and we’re delighted to continue our partnership for the benefit of SMEs in Ireland in 2023.”

The first training session will take place on Friday 15 September with live and in-person modules occurring every two weeks in Google’s Dublin headquarters. The five online training modules will help Irish SMEs to:

 

  • Get your business online

  • Help your business grow online

  • Ensure your business is secure online

  • Get your business to go global

  • Boost your productivity with AI

 

To sign up for these live training modules or for further information, please visit: rsvp.withgoogle.com/events/ytblive.

The Innovation Exchange partners with RDI Hub to partner globally ambitious Kerry SMEs with large corporates

Skillnet Ireland has announced the partnership of The Innovation Exchange, with the RDI Hub (Research Development Innovation Hub) based in Killorglin, Co. Kerry.  The Innovation Exchange is Ireland’s innovation marketplace connecting large companies facing digital transformation challenges with technology companies that can fast-track the solution.

As the newest regional channel partner of The Innovation Exchange, the RDI Hub is a world-class centre for design-led, digital innovation located in Ireland’s South West.  It focuses on digitisation, ideation and commercialisation of innovation and research in the Digital, AI, Data and related technologies’ sectors. The RDI Hub is also part of the Fexco’s Innovation division and operates as a not-for-profit public-private partnership with Munster Technological University and Kerry County Council.

There are currently six companies signed up from Kerry; one corporate, Astellas, as well as five SMEs; Graphite Note, Quodos, Galarus, Salaso and Turtle Transformation. Cork-based, RDI hub member Perkforce is also signed up.

The initiative will allow globally ambitious tech SMEs located in Kerry the unique opportunity to pitch to, and collaborate with, large companies looking to access innovation as part of a diverse and curated community of startups and scaleups. As a part of this collaboration, the RDI Hub will bring both corporate entities and scale-up businesses situated in Kerry together as members of The Innovation Exchange, expanding its growing community.

Attending the launch, Norma Foley TD, Minister for Education and TD for Kerry, said: “Ambition in any field should be limitless, but for it to be limitless we must ensure that the right supports are in place. Today we launch The Innovation Exchange, an initiative of Skillnet Ireland. It gives an opportunity to provide a level of support which will be a catalyst for so many businesses to go further and to go beyond; there is great insight here, being provided by the experts. The spirit lauded by this new initiative and development is that together we can go further and further; limitless opportunity, limitless abilities being celebrated and given an opportunity to advance.”

Speaking at yesterday’s announcement, Paul Healy, Chief Executive, Skillnet Ireland said: “Today we see the Innovation Exchange developing its footprint in Kerry as part of our drive for a nationwide expansion of this successful programme. The Innovation Exchange is serving an important role in promoting innovation and economic growth in Ireland by building deep links between SMEs and large corporations, encouraging ideation and facilitating the development of new business projects between these sectors. We encourage local SMEs and larger companies with a presence in the South West to join the programme and take advantage of the many benefits it offers.” 

The aim of the Innovation Exchange is to establish a nationwide footprint by onboarding up to 10 regional channel partners throughout 2023. Earlier this year The Innovation Exchange announced its partnership with the Galway Technology Centre, which supports innovative, global trading companies in the ICT sector. The expansion of The Innovation Exchange, which currently has in excess of 350 participants, will offer even more SMEs access to the programme’s benefits, including an instant sales pipeline, market intelligence and the capability to sell to large companies

Conor Carmody, programme director of The Innovation Exchange commented on today’s news: “We are thrilled to be collaborating with RDI Hub, as we continue to bring our offering to SMEs and corporates across Ireland. Our main focus is to showcase the amazing talent and capabilities of the companies in the region, while also helping them to scale their businesses. We see this partnership with Skillnet Ireland as an opportunity to expand our network and leverage RDI Hub’s resources and expertise to support our members and drive their success.”

Liam Cronin, CEO of RDI, said: “The ethos at the RDI Hub is all about making connections for start-ups, scale-ups, SMEs, corporates, and enterprises to create, digitalise, innovate, and scale businesses for future economies. The Innovation Exchange is a perfect partnership for us as it supports the key focus of the RDI Hub   of creating new jobs, products, and services in the Southwest. This is a fantastic opportunity for agile companies to innovate and solve specific problems for large corporates, and for corporates to gain fresh perspectives on their business challenges.”

Bertie Murphy, Chief Strategy Officer Fexco and RDI Hub Board Director, said: “This new partnership between the RDI Hub and the Innovation Exchange creates a brilliant opportunity for innovation between SMEs and scaled businesses. This reinforces our vision at Fexco for the RDI Hub as a key enabler of innovation. We have already achieved success at the RDI Hub in creating an ecosystem that has generated exciting new technologies, services, and jobs. This announcement provides an opportunity for the RDI Hub to further build on that success and, in addition, facilitate the ability of SMEs to introduce innovative and transformative ideas and services to larger corporations in the region.” 

Skillnet Ireland has committed €5 million to fund The Innovation Exchange which is designed to address the barriers that exist for scaling companies when selling to large companies and multinationals. The programme will support over 1,000 companies between 2022-2025.

Scale-ups and corporates in the Kerry region are being encouraged by The Innovation Exchange to sign up at www.theinnovationexchange.ie.

Skillnet Ireland and IDA Ireland launch collaboration to accelerate disruptive innovation in multinationals through partnerships with Irish SME’s

IDA Ireland and Skillnet Ireland have today announced a new collaboration between IDA Ireland’s Disruptive Technologies Partnering Portal (DTTP) and The Innovation Exchange from Skillnet Ireland. The partnership has an objective to accelerate world class partnerships between multinationals and Irish SMEs in digital, disruptive, and sustainable technology solutions that can drive enterprise competitiveness, growth, and transformation.

The Innovation Exchange – DTPP collaboration provides a new business-2-business engagement framework. This framework enables multinationals to raise business challenges and needs aligned to business objectives and provides a platform for Irish SMEs to present their innovative technology-based solutions to address such.

The engagement framework is enabled by the DTPP, an online searchable platform developed by IDA and Enterprise Ireland that profiles enterprise capacity and needs in digital, disruptive, and sustainable technologies, enabling companies to directly connect for partnership opportunities.

In addition to the DTPP, the engagement framework will include The Innovation Exchange programme, where multinationals will voice their challenges and needs and provide an opportunity for Irish SMEs to present solutions to accelerate innovation within both the large and smaller firms. Under this framework Irish SMEs can avail of mentoring, training and other supports to build the necessary skills to position these solutions to multinationals.

Skillnet Ireland will invest €5 million in The Innovation Exchange over the next 5 years to support more than 1000 businesses, while IDA will continue to offer free access to the DTPP for companies and access to a variety of supports to enable business transformation.  This collaboration between Skillnet Ireland and IDA Ireland is a fantastic opportunity for Irish SMEs and multinational enterprises to work together in partnership to drive digitalisations and collaborative opportunities, utilising the best of the Irish innovative infrastructure.

IDA Ireland’s Michael Lohan, Head of Life Sciences and Talent Transformation & Innovation, commented: “This is a great example of the way the infrastructure works together for the benefit of enterprise. I welcome our on-going and close working partnership with Skillnet Ireland.   A key objective for IDA Ireland is to engage SMEs and multinational companies for the benefit of enterprise and the economy.  Irish companies are innovative and smart and are supporting our multinational community to thrive and innovate in Ireland. This is a very exciting initiative and adds huge value to the DTPP.’

Skillnet Ireland’s Mark Jordan, Chief Strategic Officer, said: “Our focus at Skillnet Ireland is on driving business success and enabling innovation within both multinationals and SMEs. The Innovation Exchange has been very powerful in doing exactly that, by connecting large firms seeking business solutions with SMEs that can provide them. We welcome this collaboration with IDA Ireland which will add greatly to driving innovation across a wide range of areas including digitalisation, climate and advanced manufacturing.”

To find out more about The Innovation Exchange and to apply online, visit https://theinnovationexchange.ie/. To learn more about the DTPP and register your enterprise profile, solution and/or need, visit https://www.dtpp.ie/. Successful application to either programme will enable participants to avail of both initiatives.

New report from Google and Amárach finds that a national investment in digital skills could contribute an extra €9.5 billion to Ireland’s GDP over the next 3 years

A report launched today by Google confirms a substantial economic opportunity for Ireland exists if a meaningful investment in digital skills is made. The comprehensive study developed in partnership with Amárach provides detailed insights into the digital capability needs, ambitions, and plans of 1,000 SME leaders throughout Ireland. The research proposes that a significant investment into digital skills could contribute an extra €9.5 billion to Ireland’s GDP by 2025.

To help Irish businesses succeed online, it is important to first understand how they’re doing today and what their goals are. That is why Google commissioned Amárach to engage SME leaders on their lived experiences and expectations of their digital journey. Titled Bridging the Gap – A Report on Digital Capabilities in Irish SMEs, the study, one of the largest surveys of Irish SMEs in recent years, identified four key gaps in digital capabilities:

  1. Performance – how far businesses are from realising their full potential

  2. Competence – how businesses are struggling to use digital skills

  3. Investment – the role of funding, time, and talent in expanding competence

  4. Advisory – the absence of qualified advisors and suppliers to meet digital needs

The current situation

Most Irish SMEs are in the process of adopting, developing, and evolving their use of digital technologies. But some are further ahead in the process than others.  When asked to rate their own progress, the majority (62%) of Irish SMEs are ‘less than halfway’ on their digital journey. Recruiting people with the necessary digital skillset is also a challenge for Irish SMEs with 41% of respondents agreeing that they do not have a person within the organisation who is tasked with developing digital skills. Only 26% of SMEs say their employees have all the skills needed in terms of basic digital capabilities.

Faced with multiple demands on their time and energy, the report indicates that business leaders believe that the digital skills gap can be closed, but the challenge is prioritising it over other short and medium-term tasks.

Digital tools

The report finds that only 11% of Ireland’s SMEs feel their employees have the skills needed to successfully adopt and use new technology, a statistic borne out in the data where only 53% of SMEs have (or use) social media and video platforms and just 18% make use of customer insights tools. When measuring the number of SMEs that have their own business website, Ireland at 55% ranks comparably lower than the EU average of 77%[1].

The research shows that Irish SMEs are ambitious when it comes to investing in digital capabilities but 50% say they lack basic knowledge about which skills to prioritise. The report indicates that policy makers, advisors, and suppliers to the SME sector need to help address the priority gaps that will deliver quick wins, spurring decision makers to go further.

 Commenting, Alice Mansergh, Director for Small Business at Google said:

“The timing of this report could not be more important, the decisions that business leaders and policy stakeholders make about digital capabilities in the coming months and years will have profound implications for the long-term productivity and profitability of the SME sector, and for sustainable economic growth over the rest of the decade.  For its part, Google will use these findings to help shape the courses we provide via the Grow with Google initiative helping to train people in key digital skills that will empower them to embrace new business and commercial opportunities.”

The opportunity

Irish SMEs are very confident (56%) that meeting their digital skills objectives could make a big difference to business performance, and not just on one or two metrics. SME leaders believe that improving digital capabilities would allow them to increase wages and salaries (28%) and over half of those surveyed (57%) say that meeting their objectives [in digital capabilities] would help them to grow faster and become more profitable.

Bridging the gap infographic

Fiscally, the study proposes that an increased investment in digital skills could grow Ireland’s GDP significantly, calculating an increase of €9.5 billion (to €544.2 billion) by 2025.

Spotlight on Gender

The report identifies several gender differences highlighted in the areas of digital content and social media. Female decision makers in SMEs are more likely to use social media platforms (55% vs 51% of men). Women are more likely than men to see the creation of digital content as a top priority for digital skills development (35% vs 28% of men), as well as using digital tools and channels for marketing (21% vs 17%).

Even though more female leaders than male are likely to adopt and leverage digital tools, female leaders and decision makers in Irish SMEs are less likely to say their organisation is over halfway in its digital journey (58%) than men (65%).

In order for Ireland to achieve its digital ambitions, it is vitally important that female entrepreneurs and SME business leaders are enabled to play their part.

Regional breakdown

Comparing SMEs across the regions we find several differences. 45% of firms in Dublin are likely to think they are more than halfway along their ‘digital journey’ significantly higher than regional firms based in the midlands (32%).  When it comes to the adoption of digital tools, Dublin again maintains a distinct advantage with 62% of firms using a business website compared to only 47% in the border region. Firms in Dublin demonstrate a stronger appetite to upskill with nearly 70% of business leaders in the capital likely to undertake a course in the next 12 months vs 59% of Border firms.

 

These and other differences in the research point to the need for a strong regional focus in Ireland’s digital skills agenda to ensure an equitable and impactful benefit for all our communities.

A post-Covid world for SMEs

The Covid-19 crisis has amplified the power of digital in building business resilience. During the first few weeks of lockdown, Google saw a 300%[2] increase in the number of people taking digital training courses. Research has shown that 80% of European SMEs increased their use of digital tools during the pandemic and those SMEs that embraced digital tools had 60% better revenue results and hired 3 times more employees[3] during the pandemic. The report launched today finds that 64% of SMEs in Ireland say their experience of the Covid-19 pandemic has incentivised them to invest more in digital skills with 76% saying digital tools are more helpful to their business now than before the Covid-19 pandemic.

The report has shown how Irish SMEs are ready to invest in the digital capabilities that will propel their success in the post-Covid era.

 Gerard O’Neill, Chair of Amárach Research added,

“This research is unique in that it provides information and insight directly from SME leaders themselves. The study is comprehensive, representing a cross-section of Irish SMEs and is nationally representative of regions, genders, industries and business models. While we see some subtle differences in the findings, two things are constant to almost all SMEs; first that they believe investing in digital capabilities will enhance their business and second that they are ready to do that now – but they need the right supports. This research allows decision makers, policy makers and industry personnel to have meaningful and informed dialogue that can affect real and positive change to Ireland’s digital landscape.”

  Enterprise Ireland CEO Leo Clancy said,

“Small and medium enterprises remain the backbone of the Irish economy; accounting for  99% of active enterprises and 70% of employment. Enterprise Ireland and the Local Enterprise Offices are committed to supporting these businesses with their digitalisation journeys, investing in the capabilities that will help lead them to international success.

For successful businesses, digitalisation isn’t an option, it is a crucial advantage that allows them to compete and win. The report launched today provides invaluable insight and guidance that will inform debate and enhance decision making as we further invest in digital capabilities across Ireland.”

The full report is available to download [here]

Facebook Ireland Launches Free Christmas Training For Irish SMEs

As businesses recover from a year like no other, Facebook Ireland has launched its ‘Peak Season Prep Series’. This free online training will help businesses prepare for and utilise the busiest shopping season of the year to further boost their recovery.

Facebook’s latest State of Small Business report found that Covid-19 generated a shift in how SMEs around the world and in Ireland do business. Online sales became a lifeline during the pandemic to help keep many businesses afloat. The report shows that those who made the pivot to online are still reaping the benefits even as stores physically reopen. Half of Irish SMEs (50%) report that at least 25% of their revenue is generated by digital sales, up from 35% of SMEs in February, demonstrating that customers continue to support businesses online.

Facebook’s free training sessions will help businesses benefit from the pivot to shopping more online and will help them focus on how best to acquire and grow a large customer base. Topics include building an actionable business plan for Christmas, how to optimise creativity and influencer marketing tactics as well as covering key insights around sustainable gifting for environmentally conscious businesses. The next webinar will take place on 7th October at 10am and will guide businesses through a step by step process on how to create impactful ads for the peak shopping season.

Commenting on the importance of supporting businesses as they recover; David Harris, Director of Global Business at Facebook said:

“Last year, shoppers in Ireland were in lockdown for much of the peak holiday shopping season. Consumers had no alternative but to shop online and many businesses underwent a radical process of digital transformation in order to survive. This year, with physical stores reopened, we are expecting a big surge in both online and store sales as the pent up consumer demand that built up during the pandemic is released. Facebook Apps are now a key part of both the online and physical shopping experience. Our peak training series aims to help small Irish businesses utilise the Christmas season efficiently to help boost their post-pandemic recovery.

Further updates on the schedule for the free ‘Peak Season Prep Series’ can be found at https://peakseasonprep2021.splashthat.com/ or businesses can watch them on demand at https://www.facebook.com/watch/185130644919625/1680905325444658/

Irish tech companies raise record venture capital funding

Venture capital investment into Irish tech firms in the second quarter this year hit a record €392m, up 7.6% on the same period in 2020 which was itself unprecedented, according to the Irish Venture Capital Association VenturePulse survey published today in association with William Fry. The survey also reports a record half year to €641m, up 8% from €593m in 2020.
“A feature of the results is that international funding, mostly from the US, rose to 70% of the total in the first half, up 55% on the same period last year,” commented Nicola McClafferty, chairperson, Irish Venture Capital Association. “This is a strong endorsement of the high quality of Irish tech companies and reflects a global interest in them.” 
She added, “The worry is that international investment is cyclical and when the tide goes out we will be unable to replicate these funds. We should be looking now to increase the supply of funding from domestic non-traditional VC investors such as pension funds, private investors and corporates as is happening across the UK and other European countries.” 

She stressed that this can be achieved at no cost to the Exchequer and urged the Government as part of Budget 2022 to establish a working group to advise on how best to implement this.

Sarah-Jane Larkin, director general, Irish Venture Capital Association, said that funding for the half year had increased across all deal sizes with the exception of those in the €5-€10m range which fell by 10% to €77.7m.

“In terms of the important start-up and early stage companies there was a fall of 47% in the value of deals in the €1m-€5m range in the second quarter to €21.6m and a 42% drop in the number of deals. We hope this was just a temporary blip as the half year performed well with an increase of 15% in the €1m-€5m range to €91.9m and a rise of 19% in the number of deals from 37 to 44.” 

Deals below €1m, largely comprised of investment in earlier stage companies, rose by 22% in the first half to €26.2m. The number of deals rose by 16% to 64.

Reflecting a trend across Europe there were significant increases in larger investments in the second quarter. Deals over €30m were up 34% to €185m as a result of investments in life sciences diagnostics company, Let’s Get Checked which raised €123m, and fintech company, Wayflyer which raised €62m. Deals in the quarter over €10m also increased, by 4% to €116m.

Life science companies at 43% were the top fund raisers in the first half of 2021 followed by Software (20%); Fintech (12%); ICT (6%) and Deep tech, or companies founded on a scientific discovery, (4%).