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The Local Enterprise Offices supported by the Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation are now supporting 38,535 jobs across 7,400 client companies it was announced today at the start of Local Enterprise Week 2020. The 2019 figures for the Local Enterprise Offices (LEOs), operated in partnership by Enterprise Ireland and the local authorities, show that 3,149 net jobs were created last year across the country.
This is the 6th year of continuous employment growth for the Local Enterprise Offices since their inception in 2014. LEOs saw increases across all supports in 2019 including training, mentoring and funding. The number of those trained in 2019 was up 6.4% last year with 37,306 availing of training through their Local Enterprise Office. There was also an 10.5% increase in mentoring assignments completed, with 10,756 clients benefitting from LEO mentoring.
Over €20 million was invested in Local Enterprise Office clients and start-ups last year, up from €18.2 million in 2018. In 2019 the Local Enterprise Offices also worked successfully with their clients to assist 162 companies transfer to Enterprise Ireland.
The figures were announced today at the start of Local Enterprise Week 2020, an initiative of the Local Enterprise Offices, now in its 6th year. From today, 2 March, to Friday 6 March, over 300 events will take place run by the 31 LEO’s across the country. These will focus on everything from starting your own business and financial planning to how to make your business more sustainable and how to pitch for funding, aimed at helping entrepreneurs and small businesses to start and grow.
Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation, Heather Humphreys TD:
"The Local Enterprise Offices are to the fore in our Future Jobs strategy and make a significant contribution to boosting local economies across the country. They are helping to create jobs in every area across Ireland with funding, supports and expert guidance. Year on year we have increased our support for the Local Enterprise Offices and they have repaid that support with results which have been on the up since they began 6 years ago. We will continue to support them and ensure that training, mentoring and financial support is available to our small businesses and entrepreneurs to help them to plan, start and grow."
Minister for Trade, Employment, Business, EU Digital Single Market and Data Protection, Pat Breen:
"The Local Enterprise Office network now supports over 38,000 jobs throughout all regions of the country. In addition to helping businesses and entrepreneurs to realise their ambitions of starting and growing a business, these jobs have a positive knock on effect on local areas and so are particularly valuable to rural Ireland. I have consistently championed the role of the LEO network in contributing to the government’s wider ambition to achieve balanced and sustainable regional development. Small businesses are at the very core of our national economy and we want to ensure that those people who have the ambition to create a small business are given every support to help them succeed. I would encourage anyone with entrepreneurial ambition to check out the fantastic range of supports that the LEO network offers."
Oisin Geoghegan, chair of the network of Local Enterprise Offices said:
"These figures continue to emphasise the impact that the Local Enterprise Offices are having on indigenous Irish businesses across the country. Whether it’s through training, mentoring, funding, or expert one to one business advice, the Local Enterprise Offices are making it happen for small businesses and entrepreneurs. Our expertise and experience is the bedrock of our ability to help businesses and this week, Local Enterprise Week, helps us highlight the range of support on offer. We would encourage any small business owners, or budding entrepreneurs to get out there, sample some of the events and see how we can help your company."
Mark Christal, Regions and Entrepreneurship Division, Enterprise Ireland, said:
"It has been another year of growth for the Local Enterprise Offices in what has been a very successful partnership between Enterprise Ireland and the Local Authorities. We have seen over 160 companies transfer from their Local Enterprise Office into Enterprise Ireland and we now get the opportunity to support these businesses to build on the success their LEO has already helped them achieve, we want to help them realise that global ambition. The LEOs play a key role in driving entrepreneurship across the regions and continuing to work closely with them will help us to drive job creation nationwide."
Ann Doherty, Chair of the CCMA EECC Committee said:
"Local Enterprise Offices play a major role in local authority efforts towards economic development, in partnership with Enterprise Ireland. The supports and advice LEOs offer make a real difference to the businesses that avail of them. It is great to see more and more businesses reaching out for those supports, developing their potential and contributing to enterprise and employment growth across the country."
The Local Enterprise Offices located in the local authorities and funded through Enterprise Ireland support over 7,000 small Irish businesses and entrepreneurs nationwide. Since their establishment in 2014 they have helped create over 20,000 jobs and provide a range of supports to small businesses including mentoring, training and sector specific expert to help guide businesses at any stage of their development. For more information on the Local Enterprise Offices go to www.LocalEnterprise.ie or to see the full list of events for Local Enterprise Week, go to www.LocalEnterprise.ie/Week.
ENDS
For further information:
Declan Lee – Enterprise Ireland – 087 695 7451 / Declan.Lee@enterprise-ireland.com
Sarah Bohan – Enterprise Ireland – 087 653 9936 / Sarah.Bohan@enterprise-ireland.com