Export Strategy title and port image

Export Journey: Step 4 – Developing your Export Strategy

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The next step is your export plan. You may have ideas but you need to clearly communicate them in writing so that your whole team is clear on their responsibilities. Having a plan laid out makes it easier to spot pitfalls, gaps and even additional opportunities!

The export plan is also key in seeking supports in term of financing or grants.  Don’t overcomplicate it, keep it clear and simple.

The key elements of a successful export plan include:

1. The Vision

  • What you are going to do. How you are going to do it. What your expected outcome is.

2. Human Resources

  • Have you the staff, external support and expertise? Have you skills within your team to manage language and cultural differences?

3. Financial Resources

  • Budget, Sales targets and Pricing – Consider the additional costs involved in selling into the overseas market. Establish a target price for the end user, taking into consideration currency, payment terms, freight and carriage charges, import duties and taxes, commission to partners and competitors’ pricing.

4. Target Market

  • Why you have selected this market; who your buyers are.

5. Your Product

  • Your USP and how it translates internationally. Are there external factors which could impact production or sales?

6. Market Entry

  • Sales channels; marketing plan; regulations, language and local laws.

7. Monitoring and Developing the market

  • Are you meeting sales targets?

8. What’s next?

  • How do you plan to grow and scale?

Access the Market Entry Page

 

 

 

H2020 Gal Weiss

Horizon 2020: Supporting the development of privacy-preserving technologies

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Gal Weiss

“In collaboration 1+1 is more than 2. When you work with other parties you will achieve much more than you planned to.”

Gal Weiss, IBM, Co-ordinator of the MUSKETEER Horizon 2020 project

Overview:

  • IBM Research Europe (Ireland) is leading an international consortium that is conducting research and development on how to use federated machine learning where the confidentiality of data is of primary importance.
  • The project is funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme.
  • Progress on work package integration is significantly ahead of plan, using the cloud-based MUSKETEER platform, and the majority of the outcomes are open-source and already publicly available.

The massive increase in data collected and stored worldwide by business and organisations calls for new ways to preserve privacy while still allowing data sharing among multiple data owners. That’s the challenge the MUSKETEER project is addressing with its aim of providing secure, scalable and privacy-preserving analytics over decentralised datasets using federated machine learning techniques.

Led by IBM Research Europe (Ireland) in collaboration with 10 other partners from across Europe, the project has secured €4.3m in funding from the Horizon 2020 programme, the European Union’s research and innovation instrument. With an €80 billion funding pot over a seven-year period (2014–2020), Horizon 2020 aims to deliver research and innovation breakthroughs, discoveries and world firsts.

 

Horizon 2020’s crucial role

Gal Weiss, IBM’s EU Programs & Partnerships Manager in Ireland, is the project co-ordinator. Instrumental in establishing IBM’s research laboratory in Ireland, he has been involved in numerous Horizon projects over many years and understands how crucial Horizon 2020 support is to large, complex projects.

“Only Horizon 2020 could bring this type of project to life because you need so many stakeholders. Some big companies would find it challenging to collaborate with anyone else because of the need to protect their data, and even between universities and research organisations, just to get agreements in place never mind the funding, this programme removes barriers and makes it happen,” he says.

 

Steps to success

The MUSKETEER idea was forged in EU conferences and workshops where IBM and some other partners merged their initial ideas into one proposal.

“Collaboration proposals are now very much about quality. For that, you need to build your network, be well connected and choose the right partners. Taking part in EU events is essential when you want to join R&D collaboration in Europe,” says Weiss.

“Connecting people can also be done via social networks, however, when it comes to finding unique partners in Ireland, Enterprise Ireland’s National Contact Points are brilliant.”

The NCPs provide information and guidance on all aspects of Horizon 2020 from helping to identify partners to reviewing proposals.

“The application process is challenging and you really need to look at the quality of the writing and get into the details. Even deciding what the right theme is and what call to go after can be difficult,” says Weiss. “Some internal measurements, planning, monitoring and control of the proposal are all essential to be successful.

“Enterprise Ireland helps a lot but it’s really important to start early. I believe there’s a need for organisations to be more connected within Ireland and externally so that they’re ready to collaborate when the opportunities arise.”

With his extensive experience of directing EU-funded projects and a great research team, Weiss has been able to steer MUSKETEER to the point where, at the midpoint of the project, progress on work package integration is significantly ahead of plan and the majority of the outcomes are already publicly available as open-source software.

“Co-ordinating an international project with 11 partners is challenging. It’s essential to choose the right partners in terms of their capabilities and reputation, set your expectations in advance, create a management plan, and be very clear about deadlines and how you want to work,” says Weiss.

Due to Covid-19 restrictions, the partners transitioned from traditional offices to  leverage virtual meetings via video conferences and digital technologies.

“When I asked the team if Covid-19 was having any effect on their collaboration on the project, everyone said no, all on track. So it’s about being connected with them all the time and being transparent, so they know what I need next and what’s going to happen.”

 

A win-win situation

Weiss believes that the benefits of programmes like Horizon 2020 are significant and wide ranging.

“Firstly, in collaboration 1+1 is more than 2. When you work with other parties you will achieve much more than you planned to. And this has happened to us many times,” he says.

“There are great benefits especially for smaller businesses and also academic and research institutions. 

“It’s an opportunity to meet bright people from other organisations across Europe but it’s also a great way to promote your business or institution across Ireland, across Europe and across the world.” says Weiss.

“For example, we gave an online webinar about MUSKETEER recently and there were over 100 people listening virtually, and many of the attendees were from outside Europe. That’s publicity for all the partners. So SMEs will potentially get more business by taking part in Horizon and doing a good job. Everyone in Ireland should be taking part in Horizon 2020 programmes because they will achieve more and they will be known for what they are doing.

“Quite simply, if everyone plays their part it’s a win-win situation.”

For advice or further information about applying for Horizon 2020 support please contact HorizonSupport@enterprise-ireland.com or consult www.horizoneurope.ie

 

Garrett Murray

Horizon 2020 – An unmissable opportunity for ambitious Irish innovators

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Significant levels of grant support and equity investment are up for grabs under the Horizon 2020 European Innovation Council (EIC) Accelerator Pilot, and Ireland’s recent success shows that Irish companies have what it takes to win.

The EIC Accelerator Pilot supports high risk, high potential SMEs and innovators to help them develop and bring to market innovative products, services and business models that could drive economic growth.

In the most recent call, eight Irish companies secured a total of more than €31m placing Ireland second, jointly with France and Denmark, in terms of the number of companies awarded funding.

“The March call results have been particularly good for Irish companies,” says Garrett Murray, National Director for Horizon 2020 at Enterprise Ireland. “The success is a testament to the research and innovation capability of Irish companies and the vibrancy of our high potential start-up and commercialisation eco-system.”

Among the successful Irish companies were five whose innovations related to coronavirus. One of these, Aquila Bioscience, has developed revolutionary decontamination technology that helps protect people from dangerous pathogens and other viral infections.

“We are delighted to receive funding from EIC which allows us to substantially scale up production and deliver this technology more quickly to workers in Ireland and across the globe,” says Lokesh Joshi.

 

Support for applicants

With multiple EIC calls during the year there are ongoing opportunities for companies to pitch for a slice of the lucrative support, but, says Murray, it’s important for companies to realise that it is a very competitive process.

“We recommend that companies considering applying for EIC Accelerator support contact Enterprise Ireland first. Our team of National Contact Points are experts on the programme and work with companies to bring them through the process step by step including reviewing drafts of their application before submission.

“Applicants need to think clearly about how they are going to articulate three things in their application: the excellence of their innovation; how their product or service is going to impact in the market; and how they are going to implement their strategy to scale their business. These are the three major criteria on which the applications are judged,” explains Murray.

If companies are successful at stage 1 they are called to interview in Brussels (currently via digital communications).

“Our team do mock interviews with the companies, putting them through their paces in exactly the same way as they will experience in Brussels, to give them the opportunity to refine their pitch.”

Companies can apply for grant support only, a mix of grant and equity, or initially a grant with the option for later discussion with the Commission in relation to equity.

“We always advise ambitious companies to seriously consider applying for equity particularly in the current environment where the availability of venture capital is reduced,” says Murray. “Getting equity from the Commission provides leverage to get more private sector funding.”

 

More than financial support

As well as financial support, successful EIC Accelerator applicants get coaching and mentoring, provided through the Enterprise Ireland team.

“The Commission regards that as a very important part of the process. It’s not just about awarding a grant or investing by way of equity but also helping companies develop their strategy.”

Kite Medical was awarded a grant in the most recent call. The company has developed a system for the detection of kidney reflux.

“This funding from the European Commission will allow Kite Medical to further develop the KITE system to progress into a clinical study. The funding will also support an additional six jobs at the company and establish our market launch strategy. The project outcomes will facilitate fund raising to support our commercialisation plan,” says Joan Fitzpatrick, Kite Medical’s CEO.

 

Future calls

There continues to be many opportunities for Irish enterprises and researchers under the EIC and across the Horizon 2020 Programme, including calls for proposals under the European Green Deal, worth around €1bn that will be issued in the autumn.

The next EIC Accelerator call for applications will be in October and will have a focus on female entrepreneurship where, should the first-round evaluation show that a minimum of 25 per cent of companies selected for the final-stage interviews are not led by women, additional interviews will be planned.

“We are particularly encouraging female-led companies to apply for the call in October. There are a lot of great female entrepreneurs in Ireland and this is a great opportunity for female-led companies to get additional funding,” says Murray.

SMEs of all sizes are eligible to apply for EIC Accelerator funding including start-ups, which tend to form the majority of applicants.

“There’s no disadvantage to being a very small company. The Commission considers how quickly a company is going to scale and whether EIC support will help accelerate that and get the innovation to market faster,” says Murray. 

“The only disadvantage that companies can have is if they’re not ambitious enough.”

 

For advice or further information about applying for Horizon 2020 support please contact HorizonSupport@enterprise-ireland.com or consult www.horizoneurope.ie

 

 

Evolve UK: Establishing a UK presence

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The Evolve UK webinar series highlights the opportunities for Irish companies interested in doing business with the UK.

This webinar examines how the establishment of a UK presence demonstrates long-term commitment to the market, providing customers and partners on the ground with the reassurance that your business is accessible at all times.

Hosted by Enterprise Ireland’s UK Manager, Deirdre McPartlin with insights from Gerry Collins, ECOVIS.

Opportunities in the German healthcare market

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In 2020, Enterprise Ireland commissioned a research project to map all the players and points of entry to the German healthcare market.

The results highlighted the key role of Group Purchasing Organisations (GPOs) which work across a range of healthcare groups including hospitals, care homes etc. to facilitate combining resources for procurement purposes.

This webinar will examine

  • How to use GPOs when entering the German market

  • How Irish businesses can leverage GPOs to progress business with German hospitals

  • How using GPOs can help to address various target groups

Chaired by Enterprise Ireland Market Advisor Nicol Hoppe with insights from Rudiger Mueller, expert on procurement processes in German hospitals and owner of the Kronach consultancy company.

Creating innovative solutions to new and emerging threats

Cybersecurity solutions that address new and emerging threats

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The Covid-19 pandemic saw a rapid shift for many to virtual ways of doing work – and the recognition – finally – that remote and hybrid working is a very viable possibility in many industries. And, that offering flexible ways of working can actually give companies an edge when it comes to attracting talent. Unfortunately, however, with more flexibility comes a very real problem – the increased risk of cybercrime and cyberattacks. And the need for effective cybersecurity solutions is becoming more urgent by the day.

According to a study by McKinsey & Co, only 16% of executives felt that their organisations are well prepared to deal with cyber risk. Plus, the United Nations has warned that cybercrime increased by nearly 600% during the pandemic.

“Globally, there has never been a more challenging time for organisations in relation to cybersecurity,” says Pat O’Grady, Senior Business Advisor and Global Lead for Cybersecurity at Enterprise Ireland. “A higher level of cyber threats and attacks, security challenges linked to remote working, and increasingly sophisticated attacks on personal accounts have all put systems under immense pressure.”

 

Irish cybersecurity solutions

Ireland has long been a leader in technology innovation, with our advances in medtech, agritech, fintech and more in high demand across the globe. So it comes as no surprise that an increasing number of ambitious Irish companies is coming up with some very clever solutions to cybercrime. As an example, Cork-based Velona Systems has developed a solution that protects large call centres in the US against brute force call spam attacks, ghost calling and robocalling, a growing challenge in this sector.

Velona is just an example of our strength in the area, which is highlighted in the Enterprise Ireland Cybersecurity Innovation Series 2021, which this year is titled ‘Creating Innovative Solutions to New and Emerging Threats’. Taking place over six separate events in November and December, covering different world regions, the series features talks by leading cybersecurity experts, pitches by innovative Enterprise Ireland client companies, and opportunities for individual client-buyer meetings.

“All the participating Irish companies have identified the most urgent areas within cybersecurity and come up with intelligent solutions that potentially have a worldwide customer base,” says Pat. “For instance, one of the biggest issues now is the sharp rise in phishing emails. Cyber Risk Aware is an Irish business offering learning platforms that can build training programmes within Microsoft Office 365 to raise staff awareness regarding phishing and teach them how to spot a dangerous email. The company also offers a phishing simulation platform, which can build email templates and schedule simulation campaigns to test the level of awareness within the organisation and to offer additional focused learning for staff when required.”

Like all good responses to security threats, many solutions are based on prevention rather than cure – and with the cost of cyber crime rising sharply as the attacks get more sophisticated, this is sure to be a massive area of growth. “EdgeScan is leading the way in pen testing, or vulnerability scanning,” says Pat. “This includes scanning company IPs or carrying out pen tests on company websites or client portals to find any potential weaknesses – therefore stopping the threat before it happens.”

 

Remote working challenges

With remote and hybrid working looking likely to stay in the long term, many companies are looking for ways to boost their security with staff working on devices away from the office and even out on the road. “Remote working has brought with it many challenges; one issue is providing the same amount of security as in the office,” says Pat. “Web and email filtering identifies new malware sites and can block specific categories of websites, such as gambling sites. Galway-based TitanHQ offers advanced solutions for this issue, currently helping businesses in over 120 countries.”

A big issue for companies is our increasing reliance on mobile phones for work purposes – now a company has to look into protecting these as well as laptops and computers. “Many companies have introduced a controlled ‘Bring Your Own Device’, or BYOD, policy in which company apps are locked down or secured on the device, while others have restricted access to only corporate devices to allow for full control. And yes, there’s an Irish company involved in this area too: CWSI are experts in the field of mobile device management and offer guidance on both policy and the technical aspects of managing devices.”

It’s clear that Irish companies are leading the way in cybersecurity solutions. Many companies are finding it difficult to acquire and retain staff with skills in the areas of compliance, ISO certification, incident response, forensics and investigations – and, as Pat explains, there are several Irish companies in a great position to help. “Irish innovators such as Integrity360, SmartTech 24/7, Kontex and Evros are providing a solution to this issue by providing expert security consultant services. These companies’ Security Operations Centre (SOC service) offers uninterrupted monitoring of their clients‘ IT networks.”

 

Details of the Enterprise Ireland Cybersecurity Innovation Series 2021 can be found here. 

Brexit and Intellectual Property – Webinar

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The UK’s decision to leave the EU will impact many aspects of business including Intellectual Property Rights (IPR).

Our webinar explained the effects of Brexit on the different types of IPR, and discussed practical answers to questions like:

  • Will my existing IP rights be sufficient after Brexit?

  • What changes might I need to make to my IP portfolio?

  • Do my licence and distributor agreements cover the relevant territories?

  • If I am importing or exporting goods, have the IP rights contained in the goods been exhausted in the relevant territory?

  • Will my custom notifications still apply in the UK and EU?

Hosted by national broadcaster and journalist – Jonathan Healy with insights from:

  • Peter MacLachlan and Cherrie Stewart of MacLachlan & Donaldson

  • Joe Doyle, Intellectual Property Manager in Enterprise Ireland

  • Emer O’Byrne of Enterprise Ireland’s Brexit Unit.

Watch here 

Webinars – Brexit Customs Briefing Series

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As the Brexit transition period comes to an end on 31 December 2020, Irish businesses trading with the UK will need to operate in a new business environment.

To assist Irish companies with their final preparations, Enterprise Ireland in partnership with the Local Enterprise Offices will host a series of webinar briefings to advise on logistics, freight, customs clearance and the critical steps needed to avoid trading disruption on Jan 1st.

Register Below:

Evolve UK – Ready for Brexit: Meeting UK customer expectations

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The Evolve UK webinar series highlights the opportunities for Irish companies interested in doing business with the UK.

This webinar discuss how businesses are tackling customer communication and customer care during continued Brexit uncertainty with insights from:

Robert Rowlette, General Manager of Archway Products

Alan Croghan, Financial Director of EasyFix

CEO Spearline

Spearline: Taking practical steps to promote gender balance in leadership roles

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A diverse staff to meet the diverse needs of their target audience – to Spearline, gender balance in every part of the business, particularly in senior roles, naturally makes sense. But for the Cork-headquartered company working in the field of telecommunication technology, getting good gender balance is much easier said than done.

“In the field we’re in, it’s hard to get a gender balance, particularly with regards to software development,” explains Spearline CEO Kevin Buckley. “But it’s important – we believe that the more diversity a company has, the better it performs – and countless studies have backed this up.

“I think most companies within our sector are aware of the importance of gender balance; we would hear this constantly referenced when on training courses or meetings. But achieving it can be tricky.”

 

People-focused business

Established in 2003, Spearline has developed a cloud-based platform that proactively monitors critical business telecommunication services, replicating the experience of a client’s customers and callers and allowing them to diagnose, escalate and resolve issues before they become noticeable problems. With clients including Zoom, Mastercard and Global Call Forwarding, Spearline is a problem solver with a diverse customer base – so having a diverse workforce to match is a must.

“I believe that the more diverse your thinking as a company, the better it will be,” says Kevin. “Men and women have slightly different ways of thinking, and I mean that in a positive way. Bringing these together can only improve our thinking as a business. And our users and clients would be both men and women, so I don’t understand why a company wouldn’t try and go for a 50-50 balance. Basically you’re trying to get a diversity of thought within your organisation, whether that’s gender, ethnic or more. A nice way of describing it is that we’re citizens of the world – we’re looking for a broad understanding of the world, and that is down to diversity.”

 

Practical steps

With teams based in Skibbereen, Waterford, Bucharest in Romania and Ahmedabad in India, Spearline is working hard to achieve a good gender balance in every part of its business. “We’re currently at 31.6% but by 2030, we’ll be setting a goal for ourselves to meet 40%,” says Kevin. “The software development side, which is about a third of our team, is very male oriented, but the other parts of the company tend to be less so – we would be pushing 40% in most of the other areas.

“We constantly look at the issue when hiring, especially in the last few years as we have matured as a company.” says Kevin

“Entry level positions for software development are dominated by men, but when hiring, we strive to identify people with strong leadership skills and support them as they progress their career with us. For instance, we interviewed one prospective candidate who was self-taught and had huge ambition and potential. She is now head of the QA team. We believe that this approach helps out gender balance policy in every area of our business – and in terms of leadership roles both our Chief Commercial Officer and our Chief People and Culture Officer (CPCO) are women.”

To attract more women into leadership roles, the company has put in a number of benefits to suit both women and men who are juggling work and family. “Two years ago, we brought in maternity, paternity and adoptive leave, and we’ve just introduced a hybrid model of working, which is two days in the office and three days at home. We also have flexible working hours, to accommodate school runs, and we offer career development opportunities through subsidised study. Our aim is to keep pushing the whole time, to create a workplace that is inclusive and diverse.”

Lorraine McCarthy, CPCO, adds, “I think it’s definitely working. We have a lot more women coming through in India, and that’s a growing team, we have 45 there now. Our country lead in India is female; we made her head when she came back from maternity leave, and to make someone head just after returning from maternity leave would be virtually unheard of in India. But she was the right person for the job, it’s as simple as that.”

Visibility of women in leadership roles also supports another important strategy in promoting gender balance which is role modelling. “Yes, we have 40% women in our Indian team now, which absolutely proves the point,” says Kevin.

 

Leading the way

Spearline is one of the progressive businesses that have seen the business benefits of gender balance in management teams, and have been working hard to attract more women into every aspect of their business. This strategy is aligned to The Level Project, a campaign by Enterprise Ireland to increase the number of women in senior management and leadership positions in Irish companies. This was a key aim highlighted in the 2020 Action Plan for Women in Business.

“I do see a difference in the world in terms of promoting gender balance; society has moved on and there are a lot of people doing a lot of good things in making that change.” says Kevin

Enterprise Ireland has great weight and clout, and by getting behind gender balance, it’s really putting a spotlight on the issue – we’re constantly bombarded by information, but when it comes from a heavyweight like Enterprise Ireland, people do listen.”

 

Start improving gender balance in your company with The Level Project Toolkit.

Recruiting in Germany

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Finding the right person to represent your company internationally is one of the most important decisions you will make. Your company is judged not only by the products and services you offer but by the people who are offering them. Finding the right people to do this at an excellent level is a constant challenge at home and overseas.

Enterprise Ireland has developed this recruitment guide to provide Irish businesses with expert insights on executive search and selection from one the leading executive search companies in Germany and internationally, Signium.

Our team of Düsseldorf-based market advisors are available to help you grow your businesses within Germany, Austria and Switzerland and to advise on the vital process of international recruitment.

Download our guide to recruiting in Germany and find the right people to grow your business overseas.

David Eccles Regional Director Australia and New Zealand

Market Watch – Australia and New Zealand

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Overview

•  Australia and New Zealand have amongst the lowest cases of Covid-19 in the world
•  There have been some second wave cases and local lockdowns
•  Most businesses still working remotely where possible
•  Australia is experiencing its first recession in three decades and the New Zealand economy has also been affected, but plans have been put in      place to mitigate this.
•  Government stimuli put into effect in March will begin to be phased out over the coming months.
•  There are business opportunities for Irish companies in the MedTech and Lifesciences sectors.

Nowhere has been left unscathed by the global pandemic but Australia and New Zealand have been fortunate to have some of the lowest case numbers in the world. However, regional Enterprise Ireland manager, David Eccles, says while the two countries have managed to escape the worst of the infections, there is still a note of caution about the future.

“Australia is 75th on W.H.O data table of cases and New Zealand is 153rd, but we are not out of the woods yet with some second wave cases across both countries,” he says. “Both countries have closed their borders to all except for citizens, residents and immediate family members and 14-day quarantine measures are strictly enforced.

“Australians had been slowly emerging from Covid-19 lockdowns since May but a recent second wave has seen the State of Victoria in stage 4 restrictions while the other seven States and Territories have lighter restrictions and there are some border closures between States, with each being in a very different position.

“And in New Zealand, which was COVID free for over 100 days, a recent wave had seen Auckland go into lockdown and Level 3 restrictions, but this week they have returned to Level 2 restrictions with the rest of the country. So, most companies are continuing to work remotely and enforce social distancing where possible.”

But while the cases of Covid-19 were noticeably less in the region, Eccles says economies in both countries have been affected.

“Australia is now experiencing its first recession in nearly 30 years, thanks to the economic fallout from coronavirus, bushfires and drought,” he says. “And the New Zealand economy is poised to contract severely for the first time in over a decade this year – again due to the coronavirus.

“In addition, they both also boast large tourism, hospitality, and education industries, and these have been severely impacted by the near elimination of international travel. But in other areas, business activity remains robust with construction and financial services leading the way.”

The area manager says Australian and New Zealand Governments invested in numerous cash-stimulus measures for business since March, but these will be withdrawn across three phases from September 2020 to March 2021.

And the Australian government has increased the instant asset write off from $30k to $150k for businesses making capital expenditures and this has given a boost to some Irish companies.

However he says, while there have certainly been an array of challenges and opportunities for exporters to the region, Irish companies have shown remarkable resilience and adaptability in the face of these challenges. And the Antipodean market is no exception.

“We have found multiple opportunities for Enterprise Ireland clients, as all sectors increase their digital transformation,” said Eccles. “In fact, some clients have brought forward their entry into our markets due to demand, particularly across digital health, EduTech and FinTech. And in MedTech and Lifesciences, Irish companies have scaled rapidly to meet new demand for product and have accelerated their market entry here.

“The most impactful of the COVID factors to our clients is the border closures and the cessation of international travel. The borders to international travellers will definitely not reopen this year but exemptions are possible, while very difficult to achieve.

“Interestingly, a key challenge for our clients in the past has been making the decision about when to invest in a local presence and the time and cost involved in flying to the region for important meetings – but with everyone now meeting virtually, this removes that pressure.”

Since March when the lockdown began, 20 Enterprise Ireland clients have established a presence in Australia and New Zealand, including WayFlyer, Vizor, Swoop and MagGrow and over 50 new contracts were won by Irish enterprises across Australia and New Zealand.

“This is as clear a sign as you can hope for, to show that Australia and New Zealand are still open for business, still the gateway into the wider AsiaPac region,” says Eccles. “And Irish companies are showing the strength, determination, adaptability and resilience to win business 17,000 kilometres from home.

“We, Enterprise Ireland Australia / New Zealand, have started new ideas and initiatives to try and help clients during the current situation. We have started a mentoring programme ‘Scale Up, Down Under’ with six companies taking part in a 6-month programme to accelerate their entry into market.

We have also run a series of sector specific Advisory Panels across Sydney, Melbourne and New Zealand, giving a range of Irish companies the opportunity to present their product to sector experts and often senior Irish diaspora in the market to seek guidance and advice.
“So there is light on the horizon for both companies doing business here currently and those planning their market entry.”

Anyone interested in learning more about Irish innovation and its application in the Australian market can visit www.irishadvantage.com.au

Get key insights on the supports available from Enterprise Ireland.