Drive to Diversify

As CEO of Enterprise Ireland Julie Sinnamon has been a significant influence on the success of Irish industry during her six-year tenure. Balanced regional development, R&D, diversification and female entrepreneurship are the key areas she is keen to progress even further into the future.

Whether it's a lighting company creating jobs in a small village in Co Monaghan or a major agricultural trade fair in New Zealand, CEO of Enterprise Ireland Julie Sinnamon has been there to see the level of innovation and international sales growth Enterprise Ireland client companies are capable of and witness the difference the agency’s efforts are making on the ground.

BALANCED REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT

According to Sinnamon, there is a stronger focus on the regions outside Dublin today than at any other time in Enterprise Ireland’s history. Its ‘Powering the Regions’ strategy launched last summer sets out nine region-specific plans with new and existing measures to develop each region’s innate and unique strengths. Encouraging partnership and collaboration with regional stakeholders is a core element of the strategy.

Enterprise Ireland has been central in running the Regional Enterprise Development Fund (REDF) which has allocated a60m in funding to 42 different strategic projects under its first two calls. The third call is currently being concluded.

An important aspect of the REDF has been to support a number of hubs to facilitate employees of companies based in other locations to work remotely in a community environment. These have included The Ludgate Hub, a 10,000 sq ft co-working space with high-speed connectivity which is having a transformational effect on Skibbereen and surrounding areas and Galway City Innovation District, which secured REDF funding to provide a second building incorporating co-working space and is aiming to support 780 jobs directly and indirectly.

Sinnamon highlights that in specific regions there has been significant investment in some really interesting collaborative projects under the Powering the Regions strategy. Expected to be fully operational by May 2021, the Bioconnect Innovation Centre in Co Monaghan is one of these. “This project is really great. It involves a number of companies such as Monaghan Mushrooms and academic partners coming together to establish a research centre to support the future growth of the bioeconomy,” she says. There is also the community-driven Irish Bioeconomy Project at Lisheen Mine, Co Tipperary where big players are working together to promote the conversion of natural land and sea resources into high-value products.

“We are prioritising region by region what we believe will have the biggest impact in maximising the potential of those regions,” says Sinnamon. “There is a bigger appetite today for companies to look outside Dublin. One of the things we have focused on is encouraging companies to set up second sites in regional locations. Once you can point to successes, others will follow.” A recent example of this in action is Kilkenny-based Carne Group, which is creating 50 jobs at its new financial services centre in Wexford.

Last July, Enterprise Ireland announced the launch of the a8.25m Regional Technology Clustering Fund, which is focused on small businesses engaging with institutes of technology and technical universities. “An OECD report highlighted that Ireland is not as developed on the clustering side as it needs to be. The

Innovation Voucher scheme was a first step towards small companies accessing what’s available to them in institutes of technology for specific projects,” Sinnamon explains. “It has been really successful in terms of opening doors. But what we are now trying to do is connect more companies with each other with the commitment of the institutes of technology behind them.”

Julie Sinnamon, CEO, Enterprise Ireland

Orla Murray, SON Photographic

R&D AND INNOVATION

With the pace of technological change accelerating, Enterprise Ireland has a specific focus at the moment on trying to increase the spend on research and development (R&D) by companies themselves.

“Overall investment in R&D by Enterprise Ireland client companies increased by 5.6% to a970m in 2018, but stronger growth is required to reach our 2020 target for companies to spend a1.25bn on R&D,” says Sinnamon. “Going forward our strategy in this area will have more emphasis on the impact of R&D – in other words the products and services that come out of it – to ensure the best return on investment for both Enterprise Ireland and individual companies.”

ESRI research conducted on behalf of Enterprise Ireland shows that product lifetimes in export markets average one to three years. Even for larger companies, less than 50% of products survive more than two years – making the case for continuous innovation even more compelling. “When we go overseas, the one thing that differentiates Irish companies that are successful from the rest is innovation,” notes Sinnamon. “If you can solve a problem that hasn’t yet been solved then you have a chance of getting business. Innovation isn’t just about product development, some of it will be your business model, your processes and maybe how you access markets.”

During 2019, Enterprise Ireland undertook a series of roadshows across the country to make R&D investment more accessible to companies of all sizes. It is also bundling innovation training with other supports such as Lean programmes to make its offering more user-friendly. “We want to get companies to look at technology roadmaps and the relevant technologies coming down the line so that they have a plan to deal with them,” says Sinnamon.

SME participation is mandatory for projects funded by the €500m Disruptive Technologies Innovation Fund, which supported 21 projects under its first call. “Typically these projects involve a large multinational working with a research institution and an SME. This type of knowledge transfer is really important in driving innovation generally,” notes Sinnamon.

Julie Sinnamon, CEO, Enterprise Ireland

Orla Murray, SON Photographic

DIVERSIFICATION

Following the Brexit vote in 2016, the UK will continue to be an important market for Irish exporters. However, it is inevitable that whatever the final shape of Brexit, Irish exporters must have a diversified approach, according to Sinnamon.

Enterprise Ireland’s diversification strategy has resulted in exports to the UK dropping from 44% of the total in 2007 to 33% in 2018. Enterprise Ireland clients recorded total export sales of €23.8bn in 2018, representing a 6% increase on 2017, and also opened 402 new physical presences outside Ireland.

The eurozone is a key focus area for Enterprise Ireland’s diversification plan. It is currently piloting a new programme called Enter the Eurozone, being delivered by the European School of Management and Technology in Berlin. With the pilot involving 19 companies understanding how to do business in Germany and France and coming up with a specific plan, the programme will be widely rolled out in 2020.

“Over 1,500 new contracts were won by client companies in the eurozone in 2018. Irish companies should look at the eurozone as an extension of our own market,” says Sinnamon. “We are working with over 500 companies to help them to expand there. A lot of our eurozone events bring groups of companies together to share experiences and issues.”

Over the course of last year, Enterprise Ireland opened a number of new overseas offices, all specifically chosen in terms of the potential for Irish companies to strengthen their presence in these locations. The total number of overseas offices now stands at 40. “Munich and Lyon were chosen as we believe there is a lot of untapped opportunity in Bavaria and the South of France. Our goal is to grow everywhere outside the UK by 50% by the end of 2020,” says Sinnamon.

To support clients in expanding their reach, Enterprise Ireland has increased the scope and volume of its trade missions. There was a total of 207 international trade and domestic events in 2019 – with 34 trade missions to the US alone, as well as various inward buyer events. “We are finding success with sector-specific trade missions, which are generating a cluster effect among companies. As the number of companies we have in particular sectors grows this has become easier to do.”

Julie Sinnamon, CEO,