Ambassador for Irish business appointed to Middle East

Enterprise Ireland has appointed an “ambassador” for Irish business to the Middle East, with similar posts planned for the US and China later this year.

In his new role, Paul Kenny — an Irish entrepreneur living and working in Dubai, since 2007 — will promote Ireland as a western-based business location for companies in the Middle East and northern Africa.

“An increasing number of mobile international entrepreneurs are coming to Ireland as their location of choice to start a new business, and from the volume of enquiries that Enterprise Ireland has received, this trend is set to continue in 2012,” the agency said.

“Stimulating the flow of new start-ups, and supporting their growth, are fundamental building blocks in Enterprise Ireland’s strategy for economic growth and job creation,” it added.

Yesterday’s announcement follows on from the recent launch of a dedicated €10 million international start-up fund to target overseas entrepreneurs and attract them towards starting their businesses in Ireland.

Mr Kenny’s appointment also follows on from that of Dylan Collins as Enterprise Ireland’s ‘start-up ambassador’ to Britain. The agency said, yesterday, that further ambassador announcements to “key markets, such as the US and China” are planned for the coming year.

Mr Kenny currently owns and runs Cobone.com — one of the largest e-commerce websites in the Middle East/North Africa region — and acts as mentor to a number of companies in the region. He has previously worked with a number of high profile Middle Eastern businesses, including Emirates and Jumeirah.

Mr Kenny’s brief will be to highlight Ireland as a potential location for, specifically, technology start-up companies.

“Availability of venture capital and seed funding — as well as an excellent eco-system for start-ups; which includes mentoring, start-up incubators, export support, training and networking — are some of the key benefits that will be highlighted to potential entrepreneurs in the Middle East,” Enterprise Ireland said yesterday.