Loan refusal rates for Irish SMEs on the rise


The Irish Small and Medium Enterprises Association (ISME) has today released its latest Quarterly Bank Watch Survey for the second quarter of 2017. The survey results show an improvement in time taken from decision to drawdown of credit and the demand for credit by businesses. However, the Association highlights its disappointment at the number of […]

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71% of Irish disappointed with digital skills education in schools


Just 29% of Irish people believe schools are equipping children with the necessary skills for the digital era, according to a survey commissioned by Ricoh Ireland. Ricoh commissioned Censuswide to survey 500 workers in Irish businesses with 100+ employees each in December 2016. The survey found that only a third of respondents feel that Irish schools have […]

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€60m Regional Development Fund launched


A new Regional Enterprise Development Fund of up to €60m has been launched by the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Mary Mitchell O’Connor and Minister of State for Employment and Small Business, Pat Breen today. The Fund is aimed at accelerating economic recovery in every part of the country by delivering on the potential […]

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Ireland’s Most Enterprising Town 2017


Ireland’s national competition to find the country’s most enterprising town has been launched today by the Minister for Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, Heather Humphreys. Following the success of the pilot Enterprising Town Competition in 2016, in counties Kildare, Laois, Mayo and Roscommon, the National Enterprising Town Competition is being organised with the […]

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Irish tech start-ups raise €247m in the first quarter


Irish tech start-ups have raised over €3 billion since the financial crash of 2008, according to new figures that show SMEs obtained €247 million in funding the first three months of this year alone. This marks a 4 per cent rise on the first quarter of 2016 when €237.4 million was raised. It also compares […]

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National Enterprise Awards Final 2017


The finalists for this year’s National Enterprise Awards to be hosted by the Local Enterprise Offices (LEOs) later this month were announced by the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Mary Mitchell O’Connor yesterday. The National Enterprise Awards will celebrate the achievements of Ireland’s top small businesses and micro-enterprises from all parts of Ireland in […]

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80% of Irish organisations overestimate their digital readiness


Microsoft published its global and Irish Digital Transformation research findings. A Harvard Business Review report finds that while 80% of business leaders think their industry will be positively disrupted by Digital Transformation within the next three years, fewer than half have a digital strategy in place. In addition, findings from Amarach Research, commissioned by Microsoft […]

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40,000 Irish jobs could be generated by social enterprise activity


The newly elected President of the Institute of Certified Public Accountants Ireland (CPA), Deirdre Kiely, has called on the Government to make good on five year old promises to promote and foster the social enterprise sector in Ireland. Addressing the CPA Institute following her election, Ms. Kiely said that Irish social entrepreneurs were losing out […]

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