Business Environment News

Vape Business Ireland Launches Sustainability Charter Pledges Commitment to Reducing Waste

By Ryan Harmon 23 August 2023

Vape Business Ireland has published its first ‘Sustainability Charter’, reaffirming its obligation to reducing waste, and improving the environmental credentials of vaping products. The Charter marks the trade association’s formal commitment to supporting national efforts to transition from a ‘take-make-waste‘ economy; towards an economy that

Business News Technology

Irish Software Firm Ocuco Raises Investment to Fuel Global Expansion

By Ryan Harmon 23 August 2023

Ocuco, a global leading firm in eyecare software solutions, announced a €60 million growth equity investment from Accel-KKR, a global technology-focused private equity firm. The investment is set to boost Ocuco’s global momentum, enabling the company to meet the eyecare industry’s burgeoning omnichannel demand through Acuitas 3 OmniChannel Edition, Ocuco’s

Business News

€2.3m in Funding to Enhance Retailers’ Online Presence Announced

By Ryan Harmon 22 August 2023

Neale Richmond, Minister of State for Business, Employment and Retail at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, has announced that 98 retailers have been approved for funding under the Online Retail Scheme (ORS) to enhance retailers’ online presence, which is administered by Enterprise Ireland. This latest call under the scheme sees 98 retailers across

Business News

Irish Retailers Continue to Stay Resilient and Find Innovative Ways to be Competitive

By Ryan Harmon 21 August 2023

Despite a challenging macro-environment, irish retailers continue to stay resilient and find new innovative ways to be competitive, says KPMG Ireland’s Alison Carbery. Retailers have proven their resilience time and again, particularly over the last few years when they were forced to adapt to pandemic restrictions while remaining competitive in an already highly

Business News

Irish Businesses Set to Thrive in Shannon Airport Duty Free’s New Beauty, Living and Wellness Area

By Ryan Harmon 21 August 2023

The sky’s the limit for Irish brands in Shannon Airport Duty Free’s new Beauty, Living and Wellness area. The store, which is the first and oldest Duty-Free shop in the world, has unveiled a brand-new area titled Curated, to champion Irish beauty and wellness brands from across the country. The space which recently launched at […]

Business News Technology

Irish Fintech Fineos Raises $40m to Strengthen Financial Position

By Ryan Harmon 18 August 2023

Irish fintech and insurance software player Fineos has ruled off a $40 million equity raising in a bid to beef up its cash buffers. The company’s long-time brokers, Macquarie Capital and MA Moelis, spent Tuesday crossing potential investors for the raise while trading was halted. They pressed play after market close, mailing out term sheets […]

Business Education News

Public Service Apprenticeship Plan Launched

By Ryan Harmon 17 August 2023

Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science Simon Harris TD and Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform Pascal Donohoe TD have launched the Public Service Apprenticeship Plan 2022-2025. The Plan outlines how to grow the number of annual apprenticeship registrations across the public service, including

Business News

Wing and Apian Partner to Create Medical Drone Delivery Service in Ireland

By Ryan Harmon 17 August 2023

Speed and timeliness are crucial when delivering vital medical and pharmaceutical items to patients and hospitals. Wing and Apian, a United Kingdom-based company connecting healthcare providers with drone operators and services, have partnered to begin medical drone delivery services in Ireland and jointly explore opportunities in the UK. Over the coming months, Wing and

Business News

ACORNS New Business Development Programme for Female Entrepreneurs in Rural Areas

By Ryan Harmon 16 August 2023

ACORNS is a free development programme for early-stage female entrepreneurs based in rural Ireland and funded through the Rural Innovation and Development Fund by the Department of Agriculture, Food, and the Marine (DAFM). As the call for applications for the 9th cycle of ACORNS is launched, all of the participants who completed ACORNS 8 would […]

Business News

Genesis Bidco Acquires Irish Fraud Prevention Firm Glantus

By Ryan Harmon 16 August 2023

Basware subsidiary Genesis Bidco has announced its intention to purchase the entire share capital of Glantus, an Irish provider of specialist audit recovery and fraud prevention software. The move aims to combine accounts payable (AP) automation from Basware with the services provided by Glantus, according to the press release. The combination will mean that customers of

Business News Technology

Digital Business Ireland Set to Host 1,000 Attendees at FutureProof in Croke Park

By Ryan Harmon 15 August 2023

Digital Business Ireland, in partnership Permanent TSB, has officially launched its annual conference and expo, Digital Summit: FutureProof, on the hallowed turf of the home of Gaelic games, Croke Park in Dublin. This year’s event is set to be the biggest day for the Irish ecommerce community in 2023! FutureProof, will bring together the digital […]

Business News

Abbott to Invest €440m in New Facility in Kilkenny and Create 1,000 New Jobs at Donegal Site

By Ryan Harmon 15 August 2023

IDA Ireland, together with Taoiseach Micheal Martin and Tánaiste Leo Varadkar, welcomed news that leading global healthcare company Abbott is to construct a new greenfield manufacturing facility in Kilkenny and further invest in its Donegal Diabetes Care site, representing a combined investment of €440 million and creating 1,000 jobs between the two sites.  The project

Business Education News

New €1m Fund for Upskilling Youth in Ireland Launched in Partnership with TikTok

By Ryan Harmon 14 August 2023

TikTok has announced a €750,000 donation to Rethink Ireland, to create The TikTok Digital Future Fund. The Fund will back nonprofit organisations that work for upskilling youth aged 15-24 who wish to upskill and/or enter employment in Ireland. A further €250,000 will be granted to Rethink Ireland in TikTok advertising support. It has never been more important […]

Business News Technology

Progress Report on National AI Strategy Published

By Ryan Harmon 11 August 2023

The Minister for Trade Promotion, Digital and Company Regulation Dara Calleary published the progress report on the implementation of the National AI Strategy: AI – Here for Good. A number of key achievements have been delivered so far including: Appointing Ireland’s AI Ambassador, Dr Patricia Scanlon, and the completion of her first year in the role. Establishing […]

Business News

Irish M&A Market Slows in First Half of Year

By Ryan Harmon 10 August 2023

The Irish M&A market slowed in the first half of the year, with a two per cent decline in volume but a significant 58 per cent decrease in total value, according to new analysis by William Fry. There were 177 transactions worth a combined €5.2 billion during the first half of 2023, with 97 per […]

Business News Technology

Tyndall Calls For A Chips Strategy For Ireland

By Ryan Harmon 9 August 2023

Tyndall National Institute is calling for action to be taken to allow Ireland to benefit from the opportunities presented by the new EU Chips Strategy. The EU Chips Act comprises a comprehensive set of measures worth €43bn to ensure the European semiconductor ecosystem stays relevant and to safeguard the EU’s strategic autonomy in the global supply […]

Business Culture Education News

How Secondary Cities Can Compete with Superstar Cities

By Ryan Harmon 8 August 2023

Local universities, global connectivity and entrepreneurship can help secondary cities combat the geographic polarisation of innovation in superstar cities, according to new research being conducted in Trinity College Dublin and Ca’ Foscari University of Venice. Superstar cities like London, Dublin, Milan, New York and Bangalore have grown astronomically over the

Business Education News

DCU and SETU Announce New Advanced Manufacturing Course

By Ryan Harmon 8 August 2023

Dublin City University (DCU) and South East Technological University (SETU) have announced a unique collaboration on a new course in advanced manufacturing delivered using Virtual Reality (VR). The Level 9 IMI 4 (Innovative Materials for Industry 4.0) programme is scheduled to commence in mid-September. The programme is targeted at people interested in furthering their

Business News

Enough is Enough Campaign Launch Targeting Unjustifiable Claims and the Harm They Cause

By Ryan Harmon 4 August 2023

The Alliance for Insurance Reform is launching its ‘ENOUGH IS ENOUGH’ campaign, calling for an end to unjustifiable personal injury claims that are damaging Irish society. The Alliance recognises the importance of a robust personal injury system to compensate those who have been injured due to the negligence of others in a way that is fair and […]

Business News

Stripe Launches Tax for Platforms to Expand Easy Tax Compliance

By Ryan Harmon 4 August 2023

Stripe, a financial infrastructure platform for businesses, launched Stripe Tax for platforms, enabling platforms using Stripe Connect to offer Stripe Tax as a service to their customers. Michael Carney, product lead for Stripe Tax, said, “help with sales tax and VAT has been our platform users’ most commonly requested feature. We built Stripe Tax because it’s a logical