Enterprise Ireland’s recently launched a new strategy sets out ambitious targets to increase jobs in companies supported by Enterprise Ireland to 275,000 and to increase exports to €50bn by 2029.

Its ambition over the next five years is to support Irish exporting companies to make an even greater contribution to the Irish economy through international growth and nationwide employment, with the long-term ambition that exporting Irish companies become the primary driver of the Irish economy.

This new strategy, which is aligned with the Programme for Government and the White Paper on Enterprise, sets out four strategic objectives for the Irish enterprise base; Start, Compete, Scale and Connect.

• Start – Enhance the pipeline of innovative and scalable start-ups by supporting them with their long-term, sustainable growth ambitions. The target is to support 1,000 new start-ups over the five-year period, from 2025 to 2029.
• Compete – Support companies to be more productive, founded on sustainability, innovation, digitalisation, operational efficiency, and strong leadership and capabilities. Key targets include a 35% reduction of CO2 emissions by 2030, a 3% annual average increase in productivity, 1,700 additional Irish-owned exporters and €2.2 billion spend on RD&I.
• Scale – Increase the number of world-leading Irish companies, with targets of 275,000 employed in Enterprise Ireland supported companies by the end of 2029, €50 billion in export sales and 150 large Irish exporting companies of more than 250 employees supported by Enterprise Ireland by 2029.
• Connect – To see an enhanced, internationally competitive, and interconnected enterprise and innovation ecosystem that fosters start-ups, drives enterprise growth and investment. Key targets include €55 billion spend within the domestic Irish economy, and the delivery of 10,000 enterprise engagements with Irish businesses through our research infrastructure and programmes.