News
Mid-East Region ranked in top 10 among world’s startup ecosystems – GSER2019
An Irish region has one of the top 10 startup ecosystems in the world for food and AgTech companies, according to an authoritative new report.
The Global Startup Ecosystem Report (GSER), a detailed annual dossier which examines the support structures in countries around the world that enable start-ups to grow and scale, has ranked the Mid-East region of Ireland – consisting of counties Meath, Kildare and Wicklow – among the top-performing ecosystems across the globe.
The region’s inclusion in this year’s GSER 2019 report is a pilot project spearheaded by Meath Enterprise. The report was launched at The Next Web conference in Amsterdam on 9thMay.
Among the key findings of the report is that the Mid-East has a top 10 activation ecosystem when it comes to AgTech – the application of technology to food production – and food innovation, and it has already managed to create $150 million in ecosystem value.
The report also cites R&D tax credits, attractive corporate tax rates and low talent costs among reasons why the region remains attractive to entrepreneurs.
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, who was briefed on the report during a visit to Meath Enterprise’s Kells Tech Hub last Friday, said “It’s been really great to see first-hand the work being carried out here at Kells Tech Hub. The Government wants to make sure that the economic prosperity that we now have is felt in every part of the country and is felt in every home, while also building an Ireland, a society, in which nobody feels left out. What I have seen today in this centre really speaks to that mission and to that vision”
The Taoiseach went on: “It is great to see a Local Authority that is really leading out on enterprise development. It’s also great to see the focus on food innovation; we know that consumers are seeking out taste, traceability and sustainability – they want to know where their food is coming from and how it was produced. Meath Enterprise, through it’s Kells Tech Hub and Boyne Valley Food Innovation District initiatives, is really responding to that demand.”
Speaking whilst visiting the facility with An Taoiseach Minister Helen McEntee said: “I want to commend the drive and commitment of Gary O’Meara CEO Meath Enterprise for driving initiatives like the Kells Tech Hub, the Boyne Valley Food Innovation District and the Startup Genome collaboration to assess and develop the startup ecosystem in the Mideast Region.”
The Minister for European Affairs also highlighted that National Government level initiatives like Project Ireland 2040 and the National Broadband Plan are designed to open up the full economic potential of the whole country – both rural and Europe.
“These plans will show Europe and the World that Meath and Ireland have an outward business and trading vision post Brexit, something I have worked very closely with An Taoiseach on over these past 2 years” stated the Meath East Fine Gael T.D. and Minister.
Meath Enterprise, the Navan-based enterprise development company behind the Boyne Valley Food Innovation District, has partnered with Startup Genome, a research and advisory company based in California which delivers evidence-based strategy frameworks for startup ecosystems across all phases of development, in a bid to benchmark the Mid-East against more than 50 ecosystems globally.
Startup Genome’s GSER is the most widely read report on startup communities in the world and is downloaded hundreds of thousands of times each year, delivering analytics and advice to policymakers in 50 cities across 30 countries. The project examines the relative strengths and weaknesses of the Mid-East region from the perspective of how well enterprise development and startup companies are supported.
The inclusion of the three counties in the report puts the Mid-East’s startup community on a global stage, according to Gary O’Meara, CEO of Meath Enterprise. He said the aim of the project and the ongoing partnership with Startup Genome is designed to help develop a structured framework with actions based on the region’s strengths and global best practice.
“This can help us to support and develop local entrepreneurship more efficiently and effectively going forward,” he said. “It also provides exposure for the region on a global scale through its inclusion in the 2019 Global Startup Ecosystem Report.”
He added: “The Startup Genome project is really about looking at other ecosystems and finding out what everybody else is doing, how you build clusters and how you develop a successful startup ecosystem so that you can get all the various elements and fine-tune the environment to help startups scale properly and make them work.”
Mr O’Meara said the GSER saw the Mid-East’s ecosystem benchmarked against 50 ecosystems around the world, from Silicon Valley to Tel Aviv. “It has put us in the top 10 ecosystems based on global rankings in terms of what we are already doing but also what we are planning to do, so as an emerging ecosystem in AgTech and food, we are regarded as one to watch out for.”
The data generated by the report will help drive visibility of startup enterprises in the three counties as well as focus on the region’s strengths and shortcomings, enabling local policy leaders to take informed action where needed.
For further information, please contact Gary O’Meara, CEO, Meath Enterprise
Email: gary@meathenterprise.ie Tel: +353 46 907 3763
Download the Global Startup Ecosystem Report (GSER) 2019 here – https://startupgenome.com/reports
In the News;
https://medium.com/startup-grind/three-key-insights-from-gser2019-6da207910a31