Ireland provides one of the friendliest environments for small businesses, a new report from the European Commission has shown, with the country ranking among the top EU countries for giving honest entrepreneurs a second chance.
The country also came top in internationalisation, which looks at small and medium sized businesses importing and exporting from Ireland.
But the Small Business Act (SBA) Factsheet for 2015 also warned that access to finance was still a problem, despite improvements in recent years, and recommended the introduction of a systematic “think small first” policy.
SMEs account for more than 99 per cent of enterprises in Ireland.
The report was welcomed by Minister for Business and Employment Gerald Nash.
“But, we won’t be resting on our laurels ,” he said. “We are already examining the areas where the commission have suggested we need to do more work, such as access to finance and prompt payment and procurement.”
The report follows the publication last week of the Global Entrepreneurship Development Index, in Ireland’s global ranking rose to 12th from 17th, and the country now stands at seventh place among EU countries.
