Enterprise Ireland is the government organisation responsible for the development and growth of Irish enterprises in world markets. We work in partnership with Irish enterprises to help them start, grow, innovate and win export sales in global markets. In this way, we support sustainable economic growth, regional development and secure employment. You can find detailed information on Enterprise Ireland's activities, strategy and performance in our Reports and Publications..

The Local Enterprise Office (LEO) network is the first-stop for anyone seeking information and support for starting or growing a business in Ireland. In Dublin there are four dedicated LEO teams, one based in each of the region’s four local authorities. It is the job of each of these LEOs to promote entrepreneurship, to foster business start-ups and to develop existing micro and small businesses in Dublin via a range of supports and services in their locality. These are highly accessible, quality supports, ranging from financial aid to training, to mentoring for your business ideas. In addition, the LEO network

I moved to Ireland from Togo back in 2005, when I was 15 years old. I studied accounting and finance in DIT and then went on to train as a chartered accountant with EY. Last year was busy for me: I was one of the founder members of the African Professional Network of Ireland and I took a big leap out of the corporate world to move into a start-up. The Economic and Social Research Institute has shown that black African people have a more difficult time finding jobs, and are more likely to experience workplace discrimination. APNI is an important way of addressing this: if you know someone working in an

The Guinness Enterprise Centre, on Taylor’s Lane in the heart of Dublin’s Liberties, is managed by Dublin Business Innovation Centre and has been named the no.1 university associated business incubation centre in the world. In the first of two articles about the GEC, Dublin.ie talks to Eamonn Sayers, the centre’s manager since 2011. Dublin.ie: I’m an entrepreneur. I’ve got an idea. What can the GEC do for me here? Eamonn Sayers: The first step here is that we’ll try and put you in front of an entrepreneur who’s in the same industry. We’ll say have a chat with this person, see what they’re thinking. If you’ve identified your target market, again we’ll say we know someone here who’s in the same market and they’ll have a coffee with you too. Dublin.ie: Then what happens? Eamonn Sayers: Our role here is to help your company grow and scale. We help to make it become better and we help to make you a better entrepreneur. We create an environment and a community and a sense of belonging that makes entrepreneurs very comfortable, makes them enjoy the fact that this is their office, this is their workplace, so that both the entrepreneur and their teams are in the best place to grow their businesses.

From one chair to three shops – the success of Cut & Sew Barbershop culture is on the rise in Dublin. Barbershops are becoming cultural hotspots. Places you can go not only for a haircut, but for music, design or even a whiskey. By taking the best of New York’s barbershops and adding a touch of creativity and an Irish welcome, Sean Bryan of Cut & Sew has built his business from one chair in the basement of a record shop to three stores in Dublin’s city centre. And he isn’t finished yet. Dublin.ie caught up with Sean to see what’s behind his success. Sean left school after