Cork local enterprise offices celebrate 10 years of empowering business growth and innovation

Cork County Council’s Local Enterprise Offices (LEO) have marked a decade of empowering business growth and innovation with a special ceremony.

Since 2014, LEOs across Cork county have provided more than €13.1m in financial support to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the region and have generated 7,775 new jobs.

Over the last decade, the LEOs have hosted more than 1,600 business courses and programmes, to the benefit of 25,000 people.

Additionally, more than 13,000 business people in the county have received one-to-one mentoring.

A special event at the Kingsley Hotel was hosted to celebrate the LEOs’ achievements, and featured several Cork county businesses that availed of support and grant aid from their LEO to grow, scale, and expand.

Baseworx, Ground Wellbeing, Feed Ducks Initiative, Hyde Whiskey, RetroKit, and Wildberry were among the businesses to take part in a dynamic panel discussion.

Author, performance coach, and psychologist Gerry Hussey also spoke at the event, and he shared his insights and his practical strategies for people to achieve personal and professional success.

Outstand contribution

The mayor of the County of Cork, Fianna Fáil councillor Joe Carroll, commended the LEOs for their decade of outstanding contribution.

“For the past 10 years, the local enterprise offices in Cork county have been the driving force behind our region’s economic growth and innovation,” Mr Carroll said.

“Their steadfast support for businesses of all sizes has not only created jobs, but has nurtured a thriving culture of entrepreneurship that is essential to the continued success and prosperity of our county.”

Through initiatives like the Climate Toolkit 4 Business and Green for Business consultancy, Cork county LEOs have played a pivotal role in helping businesses reduce their environmental impact, lower costs, and secure a more sustainable future.

Looking ahead to 2030, LEOs are set to simplify access to funding, launch a National Enterprise Hub, and double the number of new exporters annually, opening new markets and opportunities for local businesses.

Chief executive of Cork County Council, Moira Murrell, added: “Our LEOs have been at the forefront of driving innovation, sustainability, and digital transformation for local businesses.

“At Cork County Council, we are committed to supporting businesses to succeed and to thrive.

“Our LEOs are at the very heart of that and have helped to generate almost 800 new jobs annually since 2014.”