Entrepreneur
“As businesses expand into global markets, we’re urging Irish entrepreneurs to maintain their local presence.”
Brid O’Connell, CEO, Guaranteed Irish Page 03
“The journey from idea to thriving enterprise is rarely straightforward.”
Carol Gibbons, Head
of Entrepreneurship, Regions & Local Enterprise, Enterprise Ireland Page 04
How leasing can fuel business growth
Business leasing gives you freedom to grow. Cut costs, stay flexible and let us take care of the fleet, so you can focus on driving success.
Business leasing allows you to utilise vehicles for your business without having to purchase them outright. This means no vehicle resale or depreciation worries — leaving you free to focus on your business, not your vehicles.
For a fixed monthly payment, which also covers road tax, Commercial Vehicle Roadworthiness Test (CVRT), National Car Test (NCT) and fine management, your business can use the vehicle(s) for an agreed term and mileage. At the end of the lease term, you can return the vehicle(s) to the leasing company and upgrade to a newer model (subject to contract terms).
What are the leasing tax benefits?
Business leasing can be a tax-efficient option for businesses, with VAT potentially reclaimable on lease rentals and maintenance payments. It may also be possible to offset your costs against your profits, further reducing your tax liability. We recommend checking your tax position with your own tax adviser, as businesses and circumstances can vary.
Are there other key advantages for business customers?
Our business customers can avail of a wide choice of models, whether they need a small number of cars or a diverse fleet, comprising both cars and large commercial vehicles.
John Langan, Head of Sales, Volkswagen Financial Services Ireland Ltd Volkswagen, adds:
Volkswagen Financial Services Ireland has been providing innovative car finance solutions in Ireland since 2008. With a wide range of vehicles across Volkswagen, Audi, Škoda, SEAT, CUPRA and Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles, we offer flexible leasing solutions which fit every customer’s and every businesses needs.
How does it work?
The first step would be choosing the leasing term length. This could range between 24 and 54 months. Then, you can decide on the most suitable mileage and even amend it, up to six months before the end of the contract, as we understand that business needs may evolve over time. The lease rental includes road tax, CVRT, NCT and fine management. Optionally, you can add servicing and maintenance to your contract. This also includes premium-quality replacement tyres.
Evolving payment trends offer consumer convenience and business agility
The payments landscape in Ireland and globally has changed significantly over the past 10 years, with a huge shift towards digital payments and online banking.
Contactless payments accounted for over 87% of all point-of-sale card payments made in shops, restaurants and other retail outlets in Ireland in 2024. This translated to over 1.5 billion contactless payments, valued at €26.7 billion, according to the latest payments analysis of CBI data published in Banking & Payments Federation Ireland’s (BPFI) Payments Monitor.
Customer preference for mobile contactless payments
Smartphones and watches, which offer customers a quick and frictionless payment experience, are now preferred over physical cards for many consumers. Out of 296 contactless payments made per person in Ireland on Irish cards in 2024, 159 of these were made using mobile wallets such as Apple Pay or Google Pay, rather than cards. Many businesses see value in mobile contactless payments for their ability to speed up transactions and streamline payment processes. They can also enable access to valuable insights on consumer behaviour and support loyalty integrations, helping smaller businesses compete with larger retailers.
Instant payments to deliver improved customer experience
Meanwhile, instant payments are being introduced this year
on the back of new legislation from Europe, to ensure that trade within Ireland and across Europe is as frictionless as possible. This will allow the instant transfer of money 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. While all banks and payment service providers within the Eurozone have been able to receive Instant Payments since January, from October, customers will have the ability to send instant payments.
Businesses, especially small and medium-sized businesses, can benefit from these changes by achieving greater control over their cash flow, ensuring funds are available within seconds rather than days. This enhanced liquidity will allow businesses to manage working capital more effectively as well as rely less on credit to cover short-term expenses.
Event for thought leadership in Irish fintech
For further insights into how businesses and entrepreneurs can thrive in this fast-moving landscape, join industry leaders and innovators at Fintech Nation 2025 on the 19th of September at The Convention Centre Dublin.
Gillian Byrne Head of Payments, Banking & Payments Federation Ireland (BPFI)
John Langan Head of Sales, Volkswagen Financial Service Ireland Ltd.
Initiative to keep scaling businesses rooted in Ireland
New partnership helps Irish SMEs grow while encouraging entrepreneurs to keep their headquarters in Ireland.
At Guaranteed Irish, we understand that scaling a business can be a turning point — often one where companies look abroad for expansion. However, through a new strategic partnership with Euronext Dublin, we’re encouraging entrepreneurs or small to medium-sized businesses to ‘Scale to Stay’. By providing access to capital and business support through this initiative, the aim is to help companies grow while retaining their headquarters in Ireland.
Strengthening Ireland’s economy
The ‘Scale to Stay’ initiative is about more than just growth; it’s about commitment to the Irish economy. At a time when international uncertainty is rising, this partnership supports homegrown and international businesses in building strong roots here. Ireland is uniquely positioned as a boutique investment destination, and we want to see more companies choosing to invest in and list from Ireland.
Support beyond capital
While access to capital markets via Euronext is a cornerstone of this initiative, it’s also about fostering resilience in Irish business.
Guaranteed Irish continues to champion companies that create quality jobs, support local communities and keep supply chains within Ireland. The ‘Scale to Stay’ campaign further aligns with our core mission of sustainability and longterm value for both business owners and the economy.
A call to entrepreneurs
As businesses expand into global markets, we’re urging Irish entrepreneurs to maintain their local presence. Now is the time to futureproof your business model and ensure that Ireland remains part of your story. With the right supports in place and the correct environment created by government – showing businesses here, you can scale — and stay.
Why
9 in 10 small businesses are turning to AI tools today
Learn how small businesses are embracing AI to boost productivity, cut costs and automate operations despite staffing and scaling challenges.
Commerce has evolved over the centuries, but it has been guided by notable technological turning points. Gutenberg’s printing press revolutionised communication in the mid-15th century. Electricity powered new machinery, leading to the rise of mass production.
Digitalisation saves time
As the millennium dawned, ecommerce platforms opened new revenue streams through online sales. AI can outstrip all these advancements, and it has the potential to do so within the next 12 months.
Many small businesses are facing AI and accelerated digitisation. The obvious benefits of using AI tools are streamlining operations, improving customer experiences and automating routine tasks such as scheduling and inventory management. Crucially, for small business owners who tend to be quite time poor, AI adoption can free up valuable time.
Recent research on small firms and AI
Research from the Small Firms Association (SFA), recently conducted by Amárach, shows that nine out of 10 firms are using AI for one or more business processes. The most popular uses for AI are for automation of simple tasks and data analytics reporting.
Of those using AI, two-thirds of respondents said they use AI for sales and marketing functions, with the second most popular use being data analytics at 44%. When non-users were asked about the barriers, the most common reason, at 30%, was the lack of staff and IT resources.
Sentiment for AI tools
The sentiment around adopting AI tools is more positive than negative, particularly among providers of financial and professional services. The same research found that 28% of business owners say that they are enthusiastic, while 39% are either curious or interested.
AI can boost business resilience
Looking into the future, the survey found that three out of 10 firms expect AI to have a significant impact on their business in the next five years. At a time when small businesses need to cope with rising labour costs, high energy bills and compliance costs amid economic uncertainty, the adoption of AI has immeasurable potential to enhance productivity, cut costs, improve efficiency and create more expansion opportunities.
Improving competitiveness through digital transformation
Irish SMEs face a challenge to improve their competitiveness in this business environment. Digital transformation offers opportunities for them to do so and should be embraced.
The opportunities in digital transformation available to Irish SMEs are significant, offering the potential to access new capability in innovation, analytics and international marketing that may otherwise not be affordable to them.
Digital gap holds SMEs back
While AI usage by Irish businesses increased to 15% in 2024, digital uptake among SMEs remains problematic. An October 2024 Microsoft study found that up to 64% of rural SMEs struggle with digital skills, and SME investment in digitalisation fell from 41% to 36% between 2021 and 2023. The competitiveness agenda being driven at a national and EU level needs to take this into account, in order to seize the opportunities digital tools provide.
Government should rethink SME digital support While Government efforts to provide support for digital innovation have been laudable, bringing SMEs along the digital transition has not delivered on its potential. Schemes such as the GrowDigital voucher have not done enough to improve the deployment of digital tools among SMEs. With 78 applications having been made to obtain this funding since its launch in September 2024, it is clear that a new approach to digitisation for SMEs must be adopted, possibly through a tiered scheme, categorising projects of varying scale and complexity to determine the level of grant support they should receive.
To help SMEs market themselves to wider audiences, Enterprise Ireland’s Digital Marketing Capability grant covers 50% of project costs of up to €70,000, with €35,000 the maximum sum on offer. If a similar scheme were offered based on a digital transition that is tiered depending on the scale of the project, this extra support would help businesses considerably. Furthermore, an Accelerated Capital Allowance (ACA) of 100% to cover the costs of the adoption of AI tools in year one should be introduced.
What can businesses do?
Irish SMEs should explore ways to efficiently and cost-effectively transform digitally. For example, using AI in marketing and customer engagement projects can improve a company’s visibility in global markets and boost competitiveness, something the Government has said it is focused on via its market diversification strategy.
However, many SMEs will have to take charge of their own destiny and provide their own ICT training to make employees fully equipped for the digital transition. Developing a bottom-up culture of digital competitiveness will reap obvious benefits in terms of efficiency, plus scalability potential.
Brid O’Connell CEO, Guaranteed Irish
David Broderick Director of the Small Firms Association
Caroline Dunlea Chairperson, Digital Business Ireland
Powering Ireland’s next wave of entrepreneurs
Enterprise Ireland is committed to helping Irish entrepreneurs turn big ideas into thriving businesses. From the earliest stages of development to competing in global markets, we provide a wide range of support — funding, expert advice and valuable connections — to guide startups.
From concept to international ambition
The journey from idea to thriving enterprise is rarely straightforward. It takes determination, the right skills and access to the right resources at the right time. We offer tailored support to help founders build leadership capabilities, refine their strategies and connect with opportunities that can accelerate growth.
Funding to drive growth
A key initiative for early-stage businesses is the Pre-Seed Start Fund (PSSF). Open year-round to applicants from all sectors, PSSF offers up to €100,000 in funding for high-potential startups (HPSUs). This helps cover operational costs, develop market-ready products or services, conduct product testing and strengthen core
The journey from idea to thriving enterprise is rarely straightforward. It takes determination, the right skills and access to the right resources at the right time.
skills within teams. Enterprise Ireland also provides investment for HPSUs and supports disruptive innovation through research commercialisation and other initiatives.
Connecting entrepreneurs locally and nationally
We work with the network of Local Enterprise Offices (LEOs), which provide accessible, on-the-ground support for thousands of businesses. LEOs are the first port of call for many entrepreneurs, offering training, mentoring and funding to help businesses start and grow.
Launched last year, the National Enterprise Hub (NEH) has strengthened this ecosystem by serving as a central access point for information and guidance. The Hub makes it easier for founders to find the right support — from funding queries to connections with training and networks. To date, over 6,500 SMEs have been supported by the all-of-Government NEH.
Building Ireland’s startup future
By providing the right mix of funding, advice and connections, we are helping ensure that today’s startups have every opportunity to become tomorrow’s global success stories.
Under our new five-year strategy, Delivering for Ireland, Leading Globally (2025–2029), Enterprise Ireland is setting ambitious targets — including supporting 1,000 new startups and growing exports to €50 billion — while centring innovation, sustainability and regional scale-up as critical themes.
From funding and mentoring, Enterprise Ireland is helping startups turn ambition into impact — at home and internationally.
Carol Gibbons Head