The outlook for entrepreneurship on the island of Ireland remains bright despite the twin headwinds of Brexit and Covid-19, with almost 9 out of 10 entrepreneurs (88%) intending to increase headcount in the next 12 months.
That’s according to the EY Entrepreneur Of the Year Alumni Survey 2021, an annual barometer that looks at the key issues impacting entrepreneurs on the island of Ireland. The survey was conducted among 121 entrepreneurs across the island of Ireland during August 2021. All are part of the EOY alumni community which now numbers over 550 people with a combined revenue of €21bn and over 170,000 employees. The alumni is comprised of businesses across a range of sectors: Consumer services (23%), Technology/ICT/Digital (20%), Health & Life Sciences (15%), Other (14%) and Professional Services (12%).
The broad view for the future is positive amongst entrepreneurs, however 96% cite talent issues as a major challenge to growing their business – both the availability of a skilled workforce across the island and the ability to attract and retain the right talent to their businesses. This has significantly increased as a point of concern since 2019 when 53% said talent issues were a major obstacle to growth.
While 40% of entrepreneurs said access to funding was an impediment to growth, just 21% said the implications of Covid-19 were a major challenge to expansion, indicating the unique mindset of entrepreneurs and their determined and innovative approach to business in the midst of a crisis.
In terms of seeking out opportunities ahead, the survey found that 44% of entrepreneurs perceive the NI market as presenting new opportunities and the best of both worlds when it comes to its access to both the UK and EU markets. The survey shows that Ireland’s entrepreneurs are keenly focused on a range of strategies to deliver success. Over the next three years, 40% of entrepreneurs said they planned to expand to global markets and create new business models, while 39% expected to participate in M&A activity.
Over a third (36%) said the area of their business in which they expected to implement the most change was in leadership and talent development, while 36% also expected that research and development and new product or service innovation would be a key area of focus. The majority (79%) agreed that the priority for their senior leadership teams will be the ability to manage multiple and continuous transformations within their organisation, while 70% stated that leadership must lead disruptive innovation and business reimagination.
A similar pulse survey of Irish entrepreneurs in May 2020 showed 75% of entrepreneurs had suffered a loss of revenue due to the pandemic, but encouragingly, despite the crisis, revenue for the group increased overall by 20% since 2019 and more than half (53%) were able to maintain or increase headcount since 2019.
The survey results also highlight that the Government response to the pandemic was broadly endorsed by the entrepreneur community, with 62% describing government as supportive or very supportive of entrepreneurship. This came alongside a strong appetite for continued support and innovative policy solutions for the varied and geographically diverse group of entrepreneurs that the island of Ireland is home to.
When it comes to how COVID-19 is impacting the entrepreneurial community, respondents cited their current most significant challenges as supply chain delays (41%), balancing remote versus on site working (40%), the supply and cost of raw materials (36%), wage inflation (36%) and forecasting challenges (30%).
Commenting on the results of the survey, Partner Lead for EY Entrepreneur Of The Year, Roger Wallace said, "The survey results have overwhelmingly demonstrated strength of Irish privately owned business and entrepreneurs. Despite the huge challenges faced over the last 18 months, the significant majority of entrepreneurs surveyed have growth and expansion at the centre of their plans for the coming months and years. The world has changed irrevocably due to the Covid-19 pandemic, but talent and financing still dominate the list of concerns for entrepreneurs, and this varies only modestly across geographies and sectors. Finding, nurturing and retaining talent in a competitive global market is critical and it’s vital to the economy that policy makers and business leaders tackle these issues head on."
Source: www.businessworld.ie
