Business
Awards help Galway businesses optimise digital potential
The IE Domain Registry (IEDR), the managed registry for Ireland’s official Internet address .ie, today announced that its OPTIMISE e-Commerce Website Development Fund will support a further 20 small firms to improve their e-commerce capabilities in 2014.
The announcement was made at a ceremony addressed by the Minister for Communications, Energy & Natural Resources Pat Rabbitte, who presented graduation certificates to this year’s winners.
Among the winning companies was Galway based SMEs Seavite Bodycare Ltd, a family run business which develops and sells organic sea-weed based skincare products, and Anchor Safety, a provider of personal protective equipment such as road safety products, water safety products and work gear.
Now established and entering its fourth year, IEDR’S OPTIMISE Fund has already provided 45 small and micro-business owners with tangible e-tools and features, consultation, training and e-commerce development support services to “optimise” their existing online presence and grow their business via the Internet.
Having worked closely with a range of small businesses to help address their individual needs using bespoke ecommerce solutions, IEDR today also reported a series of “Top 5s”; an overview of five key motivating factors and common constraints expressed by participating small businesses embarking on their OPTIMISE journey, the five areas where help was needed most and some notable results achieved by the Fund participants during the past three years.
Speaking at the event, Minister for Communications, Energy & Natural Resources Pat Rabbitte, T.D., said: “I would like to congratulate the winners of the OPTIMISE Fund today which will help them to develop their online presence, increasing potential markets and improving competitiveness. One of the key aims of the National Digital Strategy which I published in July of this year was to get 2,000 small Irish businesses trading online over a period of two years. The OPTIMISE Fund, along with other similar schemes, will assist these companies in developing the capacity and skills which are crucial to compete in the global economy and is a fine example from IEDR of the practical support for small business developing their online presence.”
IEDR’s OPTIMISE Fund helps provide small business owners with tangible improvements to their online presence such as the incorporation of real-time payments, online catalogues, order processing and booking facilities. The Fund will open in early 2014 to applications from all organisations classified as an SME or micro-enterprise and applicants must have an existing .ie website that is hosted online and accessible to the public.
OPTIMISE winners who received certificates of completion include family run businesses, emerging and established companies from the food, travel and tourism, media and publishing, retail and technology sectors.
The new President of Local Ireland, the association representing local news publishers around the country, is Head of Irish Times Regionals Dan Linehan.
Mr Linehan takes over the presidency from Declan McGuire of the Connacht Tribune. His appointment was confirmed at the recent Annual General Meeting of Local Ireland at Bloomfield House Hotel near Mullingar, Westmeath.
Mr Linehan, who has served as Vice President of the organisation for the last two years, said: “The coming years are a very important time for local publishers with many important issues to be addressed, including the implementation of the Future of Media Commission recommendations, defamation reform, the role and support for local publishers in public service reporting and helping publishers develop commercial digital offerings.”
Speaking at the AGM, Mr McGuire acknowledged the work done by the Executive in the past two years under the direction of Executive Director, Bob Hughes, on several projects related to the publishing industry but most especially the successful conclusion of the long-running campaign for the abolition of VAT on newspapers.
He also wished Mr Linehan the very best in his new role as President of the association for the next two years.
Mr Hughes thanked Mr McGuire for his leadership and support during his term of office and said he looked forward to working with Mr Linehan on the key policy priorities for the association, including Government supports, Government advertising, fair remuneration for content from the tech platforms and the reform of the legislation for defamation.
Local Ireland members also elected Seán Mahon, Managing Director of the Southern Star, as Vice President for the next two years.
The shortage of affordable housing is the single biggest impediment in attracting and retaining workers in the West, according to business group Ibec.
At a ‘Regional Insights Series’ meeting in the Galmont Hotel in Galway last week, employers were told that capacity constraints and labour supply are the key challenges facing business growth in the region.
Ibec Head of Regional Policy Helen Leahy said: “There must be greater focus by government on enhancing quality of life issues such as housing and infrastructure which are driving labour shortages in the region.
“Ibec’s vision for the West is to realise its potential to become a globally competitive location. An inadequate supply of affordable housing is now the single largest impediment to attracting and retaining talented workers, without whom business investment and expansions are not possible.
“Labour shortages are a real concern for businesses in the region. People decide where to live and work based on quality of life and access to high quality services and amenities. Industry tends to follow talent, and in this regard, the region needs to have all the building blocks in place as the attraction and retention of world-class talent becomes increasingly competitive on a global level,” said Ms Leahy.
Amongst Ibec’s priorities for the West are:
- Addressing housing and infrastructure challenges
- Transitioning towards a new growth model with Net Zero energy powered by Atlantic offshore wind resources
- Adapting businesses to the new economic realities
- Enhancing capacity and skillsets to achieve sustainable development objectives
- Investment in people and skills
- Creating competitive advantage through digitalisation
- Innovation as a key driver of productivity growth
One in five Galway businesses want to go fully cashless, as the move towards card payments and tapping continues unabated post-Covid.
In all, 22% of Galway businesses would like to be fully cashless, according to a survey carried out by BOI Payment Acceptance (BOIPA), a provider of payment technology solutions, which asked Irish businesses about the current payment landscape as well as business confidence and concerns.
Over one-third (36%) of Galway businesses were unaware there is no contactless limit on mobile wallets – just below the national average – while 54% believe the increase in card over cash transactions has helped them run their business.
Six out of ten Galway businesses expect to grow this year despite the cost-of-living crisis and running costs dominating as key concerns; 62% believe their business will grow over the next twelve months despite global economic uncertainty.
Unsurprisingly cost-of-living increases and running costs were the main concerns the majority of businesses had.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.
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