BARRY McCALL
Confidence and momentum are the two recurrent themes for Bank of Ireland director of business banking Mark Cunningham when he looks back on National Enterprise Week which drew to a close on Friday last
.
“There is evidence of some momentum beginning to take hold out there and we need to build on that,” he said. “But to do that we need to instil the confidence the SME sector needs to invest in growth.”
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He believed initiatives such as National Enterprise Week will help in this regard.
“The issue is that when a businessperson is thinking of putting their own money up for something and borrowing some more from the bank they need to have the confidence that they are going to be able to pay that money back.
National Enterprise Week is about drawing attention to the opportunities which are out there and helping give SMEs that much needed confidence boost.”
This was the eighth in the series of Bank of Ireland National Enterprise Weeks, held over the past four years, and it combined the now well established mix of local and regional business showcasing and networking events with major business seminars, along with newer elements such as sector specific credit clinics.
A new element was the Building Business Momentum flagship conference held in the Burlington Hotel, Dublin on Friday.
“This was the biggest event we’ve ever organised in association with Enterprise Week. The objective was to encourage Irish business owners to use the opportunity of improving fiscal and economic conditions to position their businesses for growth,” said Bank of Ireland head of small business and agri, Gerry Prizeman.
“We were very fortunate to have the Taoiseach there to open it and it was great to hear him say he was looking forward to working with the bank as it supports the recovery. We had more than 1,000 people there on the day listening to and interacting with a great line-up of speakers and the feedback since has been tremendous.”
The conference was organised in two main sections, with the first involving a panel of speakers including NTMA chief economist Rossa White and Anne Heraty of CPL Recruitment who took an external perspective on the issues affecting Ireland at the moment.
Tales of the unexpected
"They looked at the differing perceptions of Ireland from a national and international perspective," said Cunningham. "Rossa White pointed to what investors see and how that is much more positive than what many of us see, while Anne Heraty looked at the employment market evidence she is seeing at first hand and how that gives cause for optimism."
The second session saw a series of speakers address different sectoral issues, with audience participation afterwards.
“We had very high calibre people there and the results were really excellent,” Cunningham added. “I don’t want to single anyone out because all of the speakers were great but it is fair to say that the audience didn’t always hear what they expected.
“For example, Eleanor Nash from Easons was able to talk about the journey that company has taken as it has battled both the recession and the onset of the digital age and that had some surprises for the audience; Prof Peter Cooke was able to put the Irish motor market in a European and UK context with interesting results; Pat McCann of Dalata Hotels had a particular story to tell about that sector; and Mark FitzGerald made some very interesting points about the future of the property market and how perspective can change everything.”
While the Building Business Momentum conference was the largest single event during the week, the biggest element remains the Show Your Business in-branch exhibition events for local businesses throughout the country.
“Enterprise Week is a mix of the tried and trusted and new elements and is constantly evolving,” said Prizeman.
“Show Your Business is still the favourite with both customers and our staff. It does what it says on the tin; it gives businesses the opportunity to showcase their products and services in their local branch. Our staff certainly enjoy this and for customers it adds a different dimension to their visits to the bank.”
Given the current weather related difficulties facing Irish agriculture and imminent changes to the Common Agricultural Policy, the heightened focus on that sector this time around was particularly appropriate.
"We introduced Credit Clinics during the previous National Enterprise Week last November and we held a number of specific agri credit clinics this time around to focus on the particular issues affecting that sector," Prizeman said. "We also had a very well attended event looking at CAP reform in Listowel."
Fit for business
The Listowel event was just one of a series of events held in venues around the country covering key areas such as women in business, social media and exporting, plus some more innovative themes. "We had a sports themed event in Kilkenny which was addressed by Bank of Ireland employees, Henry Shefflin of the Kilkenny hurling team and he was joined by Chris Kitchen of Triathlon Ireland and Mick Dawson of Leinster Rugby and they looked at the parallels between getting fit for business and getting fit for sport."
Priceman believes the overall message of Enterprise Week is as important as any of the events.
“The message is that Bank of Ireland is here for the future to help people grow their businesses and we will do this in a variety of ways. As well as providing finance we will give businesspeople the opportunity to showcase their products, to get advice from experts, and to network with each other to seek out opportunities for growth.”