Ireland has 11 cities in the top 1000 and has a vibrant startup scene that ranks 15th within the competitive global top 20.
Ireland’s startup scene saw an increase in 2022 and jumped 3 spots from the previous year, outranking Spain.
Ireland’s ecosystems enjoy a few substantial advantages. The country is perfectly located between North America and Europe, and has a highly skilled, native English speaking population. According to IDA Ireland, the country has the highest level of STEM graduates per capita in the EU in the 20-29 age group, and a significant number of 23-34 year-olds have completed third-level education. All this, combined with a generous tax policy that encourages giants like Google and Facebook to place their international headquarters in the country, lays the foundation for a global hub. However, the presence of high profile American corporations, while great for the economy, also creates a challenge for the startup scene, as many potential entrepreneurs have the option of taking high paying jobs for established companies instead of following the uncertain path of entrepreneurship.
Now that Brexit has made the UK a more difficult option for immigration, Ireland is a good substitute for EU tech talent wishing to relocate to an English speaking country with an abundance of tech jobs.
However, Ireland’s potential has yet to be fully realized, and many talented Irish founders still choose to relocate or establish their startups in more prominent ecosystems. The most notable example of this is Stripe, founded by the Collison brothers and headquartered in the USA. The public sector is trying to reverse this trend with measures aimed at attracting investment. For example, the Employment Incentive and Investment Scheme (EIIS) offers tax relief to investors, while IDA Ireland is facilitating multinational integration and general economic improvement. In addition, the public agency Enterprise Ireland is providing support for startups by implementing a number of useful initiatives, such as Start In Ireland (a one-stop-shop with information relating to the Irish startup landscape) and the Excel at Growth - Suite of Short Programmes. Under the National Development Plan 2021-2030, the public sector has committed to developing the enterprise infrastructure of the region. For the startup ecosystem in particular, the plan mentions the New Regional Enterprise Development Funding (REDF) under which projects to develop the startup ecosystem infrastructure are envisioned. Finally, serious efforts have also been regarding talent attraction and retention, as the government has allocated €1.9m as part of Tech/Life Ireland, an initiative focused on attracting foreign tech talent into the country.Understand our ranking methodology and get the latest insights on the startup ecosystems of 100 countries and 1000 cities around the world!
Ireland is ranked within the top 20 startup ecosystems globally.
Ireland’s startup scene is best represented in Health, Foodtech, and in Ecommerce & and Retail.
2022 National Rank & Change | City | Global Rank & Change | Total Score | Quantity Score | Quality Score | Business Score |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1st 0 | 46th + 5 | 15.049 | 00.00 | 00.00 | 00.00 | |
2nd 0 | 297th + 17 | 2.154 | 00.00 | 00.00 | 00.00 | |
3rd 0 | 298th + 21 | 2.067 | 00.00 | 00.00 | 00.00 | |
4th 0 | 399th + 132 | 1.205 | 00.00 | 00.00 | 00.00 | |
5th + 1 | 866th + 49 | 0.222 | 00.00 | 00.00 | 00.00 | |
6th new | 931st new | 0.187 | 00.00 | 00.00 | 00.00 | |
7th new | 957th new | 0.176 | 00.00 | 00.00 | 00.00 | |
8th - 3 | 996th - 151 | 0.158 | 00.00 | 00.00 | 00.00 |
On our map, you can explore a total of 147 startups for Health.
In Western Europe, Ireland's Foodtech is in top 12. Ireland has a concentration of about 97 of the region's total Foodtech startups that are represented on our map.
Ireland's Ecommerce & Retail is ranked 14th in the world. Our database contains 70 for this industry.
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