Scale Ireland to host first Regional Start-up Summit in Cork

Scale Ireland, with the support of Microsoft, has announced plans to host Ireland’s first Regional Start-up Summit in Cork on Friday, the 28th of January, which will focus on key issues facing start-ups around the country.

The event will be launched by the Taoiseach, Micheál Martin and will include some of the country’s leading start-ups including Fenergo and Workhuman.

The Summit will focus on the best policy conditions to foster and promote the growth of start-ups around the country. There are currently more than 2,000 indigenous tech start-up and scale-up companies, employing more than 47,000 people in Ireland. For each additional job created by a start-up, five additional jobs are created in the wider economy.

Ahead of the Summit, Scale Ireland and Microsoft have launched a State of Start-ups Survey, which will gauge the views of founders on the key issues which contribute to regional enterprise. These include the availability of capital, the retention and recruitment of staff, as well as key tax incentives and regulations.

The survey will also focus on other important issues including tackling the low number of female founders and women in senior management roles in the sector, as well as increasing awareness of sustainability issues amongst founders.

Key government initiatives and schemes including the Research & Development (R&D) Tax Credits, the Employment Incentive Investment Scheme (EIIS) and the Key Employee Engagement Programme (KEEP) Scheme will be assessed in terms of their impact on the sector, usability and possible improvements.

Scale Ireland and Microsoft will publish the survey results to coincide with the launch of the Summit in January. The findings will inform Scale Ireland’s work on advocating for the best possible conditions and policies for start-ups to thrive across Ireland.

This will also lead to further research, submissions and engagement with key stakeholders on how to make Ireland a leading location for innovation.

The CEO of Scale Ireland, Martina Fitzgerald, said “To ensure Ireland’s tech start-ups play a significant role in our economic future, we are bringing together leading founders, investors and academics who will look at the best possible conditions for start-ups to succeed nationwide and to address any challenges that exist. Our State of Start-ups survey will provide us with vital information to address these issues.”

Anne Sheehan, General Manager, Microsoft Ireland, commented, “As a cornerstone of Ireland’s economy and a core driver of post-pandemic inclusive recovery, start-ups are vital to our economic and social future. A clear understanding of the challenges new businesses are facing is crucial at this juncture, to ensure that we can build the resilience and technology to support the success of ambitious and innovative start-ups and entrepreneurs.

“We are also excited to become Scale Ireland’s Platinum Partner as our collaboration comes at a great point in time when we continue our on-going support of the start-up ecosystem in Ireland through Microsoft for Startups.”

The Chair of Scale Ireland, Brian Caulfield, stated “We are at an important juncture in terms of Ireland’s economic future, and it is critical that we get the feedback of founders across the country and learn about the issues and opportunities they are facing. Our Regional Start-up Summit and Survey will ensure their voices are heard in key policy areas.”

The leading Irish venture capital firm, Atlantic Bridge, the Irish recruitment firm Hadfield Green and the Cork Hub, Republic of Work are also supporting the Regional Start-up Summit.

To contribute to the survey, you can do so here.