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BITA DUBLIN
BITA’s Dublin chapter is going from strength to strength.
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wo years after its launch, the Dublin chapter of BITA is growing fast with interest coming mostly from SMEs in the fintech, professional services and construction sectors. Chair of BITA Dublin chapter, Enda Newton, describes membership as quite a broad church, “We are holding networking and education events on the threats and opportunities associated with Brexit, motivating members to take action to mitigate risks such as foreign exchange.” The chapter works with the British Embassy in Dublin to help BITA members see what the post-Brexit horizon looks like from a UK perspective. Enda Newton, who is a partner at the Dublin-based commercial law firm AMOSS Solicitors, says they recently held an event on fintech opportunities which drew 185 people, “We essentially got people in the room and got them talking. There is the Northern Powerhouse in northwest England and there are tech opportunities in Wales so there’s a lot more going on other than in Ireland.” Because of this strategy, he says, more Dublin BITA members are now starting to do business outside Ireland.
Over €1bn The value of weekly trade both ways between Britain and Ireland
Some of them attended a recent Co-operation Ireland BITA event in Manchester to see where the skills shortages and gaps lie in the UK market. While the chapter organises informal networking evenings to coincide with similar BITA events in London and Liverpool, Brexit is seen as one of the biggest challenges and the Dublin team keeps a close eye on developments. They recently held the first in a series of updates at the Shelbourne Hotel where speakers included Fianna Fail’s Brexit spokesman Stephen Donnelly TD, the British Ambassador and a number of experts. Enda Newton adds “On Brexit, we are trying to get down from the theoretical to the granular. We’re monitoring the political situation and we’re focused on education. We’re not creating policy, we’re out there creating opportunities for our members so it’s quite practical.”
Paul Whitnell, BITA President speaking at Dublin Fintech Conference, June 2017