Ireland ranks fifth in Europe for aspirations among its citizens to become entrepreneurs, according to research published this week.

The 2018 Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) survey of entrepreneurship in Ireland was authored by Paula Fitzsimons in Fitzsimons Consulting and DCU Business School’s Dr Colm O’Gorman.

The research is garnered from surveys of around 2,000 people in each country assessed for GEM. In Ireland, the survey is sponsored by Enterprise Ireland.

Among the key findings in the GEM Ireland survey:

• Nearly 27,000 people were involved in starting a new business in Ireland in 2018, on par with the European average;
• 22% of early-stage entrepreneurs here start or run a venture jointly with family members – a relatively high percentage compared with most other European countries;
• 61% of new business owners in 2018 were male;
• 20% of people who set up a business last year were under 30 years of age, while 25% were aged 50 or over;
• 32% of respondents that exited a business in 2018 did so for family or personal reasons – a higher percentage than any other country surveyed in Europe. Some 14% cited problems accessing finance as their reason for exiting.

The GEM survey found that one in five people in Ireland aspire to start a business and become an entrepreneur, which places Ireland fifth on European rankings for entrepreneurial ambition.

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In terms of the prestige attached to starting your own business, Ireland finished top of the table in Europe, with 84% of Irish survey respondents reporting that successful entrepreneurs are held in high regard. However, only 55% considered entrepreneurship to be a good career choice, while just 32% of respondents said that they knew a recent entrepreneur.

The GEM survey also reveals that the rate of informal investors among the adult population in Ireland is relatively low (4%), but the total amount being invested by informal investors in Ireland, at €32,000 on average, is above the European average of €26,000.

Rowena Dwyer (pictured), Manager of Policy and Government Relations with Enterprise Ireland, commented: “Enterprise Ireland has been extending its full support to early-stage entrepreneurs and startup businesses to develop and realise their potential to step into new global markets.

“The GEM data tells us that Ireland is above European average in terms of those who aspire to start their own business and who are nascent entrepreneurs. However, the fact that less than 7% of those aged under 25 are entrepreneurs shows that our work must continue for further improvements to be achieved in this regard.

“This is a clear indication that the importance of initiatives such as Enterprise Ireland’s Feasibility Grants and Competitive Start Fund to encourage graduate entrepreneurs to venture into business cannot be overstated.”