Most small firms report optimism for growth prospects

ALMOST 80pc of SMEs in Ireland expect their business to grow by up to 25pc in the next three years, with 13pc believing they could potentially grow their by business by up to 50pc of its current size.

More than seven in 10 of those businesses which foresee growth expect it to come from the expansion of existing relationships and local markets.

The insights come from previously unpublished trends identified in research by Vodafone carried out nationwide with 600 SME employees and employers.

According to the study, almost no SME businesses (4pc) plan to reduce investment in their business in the next three years.

While companies were positive about their future, they did express some concerns about their ability to invest in technology.

Some 42pc of SMEs believe they are not able to take advantage of new technology due to the inability to invest, while 32pc of employees also believe their businesses are not investing in technology.

The research showed that 67pc of SMEs believe flexible working options offer benefits to their workforce such as employee engagement and improved connectivity.

However, inadequate broadband was raised as reason why companies could not embrace smart working. In Dublin, this was raised as an issue by 31pc of respondents, in Connacht it was raised by 32pc of respondents and in Munster it was raised by 49pc.

The issue was least evident in Leinster where only 26pc of people said poor broadband was a barrier to smart working initiatives.

The director of enterprise at Vodafone Ireland, Regina Moran, pictured, said she saw technology as being “at the core of enabling Irish businesses to flourish”.