Conor O'Donovan of Enterprise Ireland. Image: Shane O'Neill/Coalesce
The National Enterprise Hub is like Citizens Information but for businesses. And it’s been a long time coming.
‘Time is money’ is an age-old adage that takes on a very literal meaning for business owners. Ironically, finding the right Government funding and support is a significantly time-consuming task for thousands of small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) across Ireland.
“What they don’t want to do is visit lots and of lots of websites because they’re time poor – they’re busy running their businesses,” Conor O’Donovan of Enterprise Ireland tells SiliconRepublic.com.
Based on research conducted by the Government agency last year, businesses would rather find Government supports in one centralised place to save time and effort. Additionally, they would prefer having someone to talk to over the phone to direct them to the right supports based on their business size, stage and sector.
O’Donovan, who leads Enterprise Ireland’s global marketing communications, is one of the key figures behind the National Enterprise Hub, a website launched to stakeholders yesterday (10 July) to address this pressing need expressed by businesses across the country.
The hub brings together resources on more than 180 Government supports from 19 different departments and state agencies and can be accessed through the website or by speaking to one of the hub’s six advisers by phone or via live chat.
This free service aims to make it easier for entrepreneurs to access and avail of supports such as grants, funding, loans and expert advice across a range of sectors. It also aims to engage small businesses who have yet to avail of Government support. O’Donovan says that are also plans to infuse the hub with generative AI in the future to make the experience more seamless.
“It’s really based on user needs. We’ve worked with SMEs right across the country to help us develop this in a way that’s usable and accessible for them and also in a way that helps them get to the right support in the shortest amount of time possible.”
Why it’s important
Sinéad Crowther, who was recognised by Enterprise Ireland as Founder of the Year last October, thinks the National Enterprise Hub could be a “game changer” for business owners.
“Sometimes you want the support, but you just can’t dedicate the time to research so you leave it,” Crowther tells SiliconRepublic.com.
“And that’s such a waste because there’s so many supports here in Ireland for businesses, especially when you’re young and you’re trying to get a foothold in the market or enter new markets. So I think that’s going to be absolutely transformative for business owners.”
Crowther is the co-founder and CEO of Louth-based Soothing Solutions, which manufactures a range of honey jelly pops called Tonstix that provide an alternative to children’s lozenges.
The start-up was founded in 2017 after Crowther recognised a demand for products that help children suffering from sore throats and coughs. She met her co-founder Denise Lauaki while on the New Frontiers entrepreneur programme at Dundalk Institute of Technology.
“In the early stage in R&D and the start-up stage, I think it’s much easier to find support because that’s the really cool, trendy and innovative stage – that’s exciting,” she says.
“But when you set your business open, it’s up and running, it’s just a daily grind and the demands just become bigger and bigger on your time, and you have less time to find out what the supports are and so you miss out on them. So this hub will help solve that problem.”
‘Knowing from the get-go’
Geraldine Magnier is the director and co-founder of Idiro Analytics, a Dublin-based company that provides AI and data analytics services to businesses. She is also chair of the Small Firms Association (SFA), which represents and lobbies on behalf of businesses with less than 50 employees.
And according to a recent survey conducted by the group, more than half (55pc) of small businesses weren’t aware of SME grants available to them through the last budget.
What’s more, Magnier said that while the conversion rate of those that did know about the grants is quite good, 25pc of those who did apply weren’t eligible for them.
“This creates future frustration. When you go through a lot of paperwork, and a lot of red tape, and then realise you’re not eligible, it does dampen your spirits to go at a grant or go for a fund down the line. So knowing from the get-go whether you’re eligible or ineligible is just really nice – the binary response of a yes or a no,” she says.
“I would hope that the uptake of a lot of the funds available will increase [through the hub]. For the huge proportion of businesses who never go for anything because they just don’t know where to start – an information overwhelm – having information that can be filtered in a consolidated platform and give you a next action is music to our ears. Now that it’s here, I wonder why we didn’t do it a long time ago.”
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