Paul Donnelly
Question:372. Deputy Paul Donnelly asked the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment to report on the work of Enterprise Ireland Office in Austin, Texas, since its establishment. [35797/23]
View answerTuesday, 25 July 2023
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Written answers
Enterprise Ireland’s Austin, Texas office is one of six EI offices in the US and officially opened in May 2015.
The Austin office consists of four team members—a manager and three market advisors—dedicated to the support of client companies targeting the Texas, southern USA and Mexico regions, working in close collaboration with Team Ireland.
The Austin office covers the southern USA region (Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kentucky, West Virginia and Tennessee), as well as Mexico, supported where necessary by local specific subject matter expertise (i.e. Pathfinders, Business Accelerators).
Sectors of focus for the southern USA include Digital Technologies, HR/Talent Tech, Enterprise SaaS, Industrial Technologies, Aerospace, Energy & Cleantech, Equine and Agribusiness. The Austin office supports Enterprise Ireland clients in all sectors in the Mexico region.
Enterprise Ireland engages directly with local industry and trade stakeholders across the southern USA and Mexico to advance the development of Irish companies, including the Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce, the International Roundtable, the Irish Mexican Chamber, COMCE and the local business community.
The Enterprise Ireland Austin office’s market strategy has an emphasis on one-to-one engagement with Irish companies to provide meaningful business connections, impactful research and advising projects, and support them from start to scale in the southern USA and Mexican markets.
Other specific Austin office engagements include:
Participation in one of the country’s largest technology conferences, SXSW to give a platform to growth clients to connect with key stakeholders
St Patrick’s Day/week itineraries & Trade Missions across EI sectors
Education in Ireland key trade events across Mexico
Team Ireland collaborative Trade Visits to states in the region, such as Oklahoma (USA) and Nuevo Leon (Mexico).
Client Knowledge Forum Workshops tailored to support client growth and development in the US and Mexico
In market itineraries for a number of clients across sectors pre and post-COVID
The US is a key market of growth for Enterprise Ireland clients and was named as the top priority market for numerous EI clients.
Enterprise Ireland client companies’ total exports to North America increased to just over €5.5 billion in 2022 representing a growth rate of 13% year on year.