🇮🇪 Enterprise Ireland Strategy 2025–2029: Scaling Irish Business through Global Reach and Sustainable Innovation

Enterprise Ireland, the Irish government agency responsible for supporting Irish businesses in global markets, has released its new five-year strategy for the period 2025–2029. Titled Delivering for Ireland, Leading Globally, the plan outlines Ireland’s ambition to strengthen its indigenous enterprise base, expand its international footprint, and accelerate the dual transition to a digital and low-carbon economy.

📈 Strong Economic Performance, Structural Challenges Ahead

Ireland's macroeconomic indicators remain robust:

• A workforce of nearly 2.8 million people in 2024, compared to 1.1 million in 1983,
• Record-low unemployment,
• Ranked #1 in the Eurozone for competitiveness by the 2024 IMD World Competitiveness Yearbook.

Despite these strengths, the Irish economy faces structural challenges:

• A heavy reliance on international markets and foreign direct investment,
• A limited base of large-scale indigenous exporters,
• Pressures on housing, infrastructure, and wage costs,
• The urgent need to adapt to climate and digital transitions.

Enterprise Ireland’s new strategy aims to position Irish-owned exporting companies as a central pillar of long-term economic resilience and growth.

🎯 Ambitious Targets for 2029

The agency has set out clear quantitative goals for 2029:

• 275,000 jobs in Enterprise Ireland-supported companies (+40,000 from 2023),
• €50 billion in annual exports,
• €2.2 billion in business R&D investment,
• 1,000 new start-ups supported,
• 150 Irish companies employing more than 250 people,
• €55 billion in economic impact on the Irish domestic economy,
• A 35% reduction in CO₂ emissions from supported firms by 2030.

🔍 A Four-Pillar Strategic Framework

Enterprise Ireland structures its strategy around four key action areas:

1. Start – Develop a new wave of innovative start-ups, with a focus on sectors such as AI, health tech, sustainable food systems, and digital industries.
2. Compete – Improve competitiveness through increased productivity, digital transformation, and sustainability. Goal: +3% annual productivity growth.
3. Scale – Support high-potential SMEs to become global players. A new Scaling Fund will help them access finance and global markets.
4. Connect – Strengthen the national innovation ecosystem and international linkages through hubs, clusters, and better access to public procurement and research collaboration.

🔧 Six Strategic Levers to Deliver Transformation

To meet its targets, Enterprise Ireland is activating six transversal levers:

1. Maximising Global Opportunity

• Expansion of international presence (new offices in Atlanta, Glasgow, Zurich),
• Support for 1,700 new Irish exporters,
• Development of Landing Pad programmes and global market intelligence tools.

2. Funding Ambition

• Boosting access to early-stage and scaling finance through direct investment and co-investment models,
• Reinforcing the Seed and Venture Capital Scheme,
• Launching a dedicated Enterprise Scaling Fund.

3. Igniting Innovation

• Targeting €2.2 billion in R&D investment by 2029,
• Supporting collaboration with Technology Centres and Technology Gateways,
• Developing a National Start-Up Hub and promoting deeptech, digital, and industrial research.

4. Embracing Sustainability

• 35% CO₂ emissions reduction goal by 2030,
• Scaling up the Green Transition Fund,
• Supporting industrial innovation in sectors such as offshore wind, green manufacturing, and precision fermentation in agri-food.

5. Strengthening Skills and Talent

• Expanding leadership and mentoring programmes,
• Promoting inclusive entrepreneurship (women, under-represented groups),
• Enhancing partnerships with universities and training bodies (e.g. Sustain-FIT, Odyssey Programme).

6. Driving Performance

• Supporting widespread digital transformation and AI adoption,
• Increasing operational efficiency and productivity,
• Partnering with European Digital Innovation Hubs for tailored support.

🤝 A Strategy Aligned with EU Priorities and Open to Cooperation

Enterprise Ireland’s strategic roadmap aligns with broader EU goals such as:

• The twin transition (green and digital),
• Open strategic autonomy,
• Regional cohesion and innovation through Smart Specialisation Strategies.

It also connects to key Irish and EU initiatives:

• White Paper on Enterprise 2022–2030,
• Horizon Europe (with a €1.5 billion Irish drawdown target by 2027),
• AI – Here for Good,
• Quantum 2030,
• Ireland’s Offshore Wind Industrial Strategy (Powering Prosperity),
• Shared Island Initiative (cross-border innovation and sustainability projects).

These open up opportunities for deeper Franco-Irish collaboration, especially in fields such as green technologies, health innovation, digital transformation, and academic–industry partnerships.

🔗 More information:

Full report available at: www.enterprise-ireland.com