Paul Donnelly
Question:160. Deputy Paul Donnelly asked the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment to report on the work of the IDA office in Johannesburg since its establishment. [49301/23]
View answerTuesday, 14 November 2023
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Written answers
An important element of the IDA’s strategy is to diversify its market reach by broadening the geographic profile of investment. ‘Pioneering Markets’, which is the name given to the new markets identified to extend IDA’s global footprint, was established within the Growth Markets Division in 2019. This approach has been supported by a number of in-market Pathfinders, who are part-time consultants, located across multiple geographies including South Africa.
Since appointment in 2019, IDA Ireland’s South African pathfinder has been instrumental in promoting Ireland as an investment location. In this regard, the IDA has engaged with a number of South African companies and hosted several itineraries for technology and fintech firms interested in investing in Ireland. Moreover, the Dublin-based IDA team members have also participated in various South Africa focused events and speaking opportunities both in-market and in Ireland.
The IDA has welcomed investments from South Africa in the key sectors of Technology, Financial Services and Life Sciences and there is a growing number of South African companies with FDI operations in Ireland. These companies include Investec, Aspen and OUTsurance. According to my Department's Annual Employment Survey 2022, there are 11 South African companies located in Ireland which employ over 200 people. While there has been further investment in 2023, the data relating to 2023 will not be available until early next year.
South Africa will continue to be a key target market for IDA Ireland’s Growth Markets Division. IDA Ireland is committed to proactively position Ireland as the perfect location for South African companies to base their European operations and is confident of more investments from South Africa during 2024 and beyond, leading to further job creation in the coming years.