FOOD
INNOVATION
During the Meath Enterprise Week Business Conference and Expo, 16-19 November, #MEW2015, from left to right: Kevin Stewart,
Director, Meath County Council; Dane Stangler, VP of Research & Policy, Kauffman Foundation; Jackie Maguire, CEO, Meath County Council;
and Gary O’Meara, Manager, Meath Enterprise
Spirit of growth
There’s an air of confidence in the business community these days and Jackie Maguire, Chief Executive
of Meath County Council, believes everything is in place for the county to attract and retain a thriving
workforce.
C
ounty Meath’s location
within the greater Dublin
area means that it really
is ideal for business. Yet
we found that we were falling short
in terms of economic development,
vis a vis population growth,
infrastructure growth and some
key skillsets in the workforce. So
the Meath Economic Development
Strategy 2014-2022 has been built
around finding solutions to these
problems.
We found that we were doing
well at attracting, retaining and
supporting indigenous Irish
companies – we have a 50 per cent
higher rate of companies supported
by Enterprise Ireland and local
enterprise offices than the national
average, with 12 per cent of jobs
supported by EI, which is 4 per cent
higher than the national average.
However, one of the stats that
jumped out at us was not as positive.
Our research showed that there
was a high level of the county’s
population who commuted out of
Meath to work. Part of our strategy,
therefore, is to ensure that this trend
is reversed and that means making
sure we harness and nurture the
entrepreneurial spirit and innovation
skills within the county to create
the jobs that attract a skilled and
dynamic workforce.
As a local authority, we don’t
actually create the jobs but we can
help to create that entrepreneurial
atmosphere so that businesses
– both established and startups
– feel supported in their plans.
We do whatever we can in the
areas we can directly control, like
infrastructure, and then work to
influence government departments
and agencies on a national level
around areas like communications,
as broadband is a major issue.
Of course, you have to play to your
strengths and we recognise that the
food and drinks industry in Meath
is well established and many food
producers are already nationally and
internationally known. We see this
as an area that we can foster and
support and that’s how the concept
of the Boyne Valley Food Hub came
about. Nurturing innovation here in
the heart of the Boyne Valley is key
to creating those entrepreneurial
skillsets that can benefit the whole of
the county.
Meath Enterprise Week is an
initiative that we started last year
to help promote and develop
entrepreneurship in the region
and our alliance with Global
Entrepreneurship Week and GEN
Ireland gives us access to an
enormous global network. During
the week, we run events, workshops
and talks for Startups and SMEs to
help support their businesses and
give them an opportunity to network
and discuss their businesses and
ideas. The vast majority of the
events are free as we want to attract
as many people as possible to
participate. There is a lot of support
available for businesses, but there’s
often a lack of awareness from
people who are just starting, so
opening their eyes to the amount
of help, encouragement and even
money available is a big part of the
week.
This time next year I would hope
we are well advanced with the