Today, Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Leo Varadkar launched the 7th Trade Mission in Ireland organised by Enterprise Ireland and IDA Ireland. This year’s ‘Global Sourcing’ event will take place virtually for the first time and aims to create business opportunities for Irish-owned companies with multinational companies based in Ireland.

More than 330 pre-arranged one-to-one meetings are scheduled to take place virtually today between 162 Irish suppliers and 50 multinationals operating in pharma, medtech, ICT and other sectors. The Trade Mission provides multinationals with direct access to potential local suppliers and is an important platform for raising awareness of the capabilities of innovative Irish SMEs across a range of sectors.

Tánaiste Leo Varadkar said:

"I’m really happy to launch the 7th Trade Mission in Ireland today. For companies attending that are investing in Ireland, this mission is a fantastic opportunity to see all that Irish indigenous business has to offer. For Irish business then, it is a chance to meet, one-to-one, with some of the largest international companies doing business here. Indeed, hundreds of Irish companies already work closely with multinationals in Ireland and many of these relationships began with a meeting at a Trade Mission in Ireland. To date, contracts to the value of €32 million can be traced back to connections made at previous missions. The IDA and Enterprise Ireland have put together a really interesting programme, which I am confident will be useful, informative and ultimately very fruitful for all those attending."

Julie Sinnamon, CEO, Enterprise Ireland said:

"Helping Irish companies to grow and scale is a big focus for Enterprise Ireland and working with foreign-owned multinational companies provides an important route to market for businesses with global ambition. We’ve seen real traction in consolidating relationships between Irish SMEs and multinationals through the activities of the joint agency Global Sourcing Programme with this Trade Mission over the years. It’s about generating contract wins which ultimately results in the creation of jobs in regional locations as well as potential global business opportunities for Irish companies."

IDA Ireland CEO Martin Shanahan said:

"This collaboration between IDA Ireland and Enterprise Ireland is aimed at strengthening the links between multinational companies and indigenous Irish companies. The Trade Mission affords multinational companies direct access to indigenous enterprises of high quality with the potential to become suppliers to sites here in Ireland. For the multinational companies there’s the benefits of flexible service, a client-focused approach and security of supply. For indigenous firms it offers the prospect of accessing global MNC supply chains. The wider benefits of this integrated approach include substantial benefit to local economies across Ireland and its value in promoting Ireland as a welcoming pro-business destination."

David Monaghan, Director, PRO Stainless said:

"The Trade Missions in Ireland have been of key value to PRO Stainless’s business development efforts both in Ireland and further afield. I find the introductions to IDA companies lead the way in establishing long lasting relationships with future clients."

Reporting: Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment