The key word is confidence
CEO of Sligo Chamber Aidan Doyle believes confidence is key for businesses in Sligo and beyond after Covid-19.
Of course, the pandemic has been a major challenge for all businesses in Sligo, but Mr Doyle says the support of the public locally can help all sectors respond and regain the ground lost as a result of the current crisis.
“The key word is confidence,” Mr Doyle said.
“If you look around Sligo at the moment, the retailers and our thriving food community are the heartbeat of our economy and lend personality to our town really. It’s critical that we support our retailers and our food industry because they support other suppliers and producers and I think it’s the confidence that’s required.
“I think once they get up and running there’s a lot of government measures in place and while we welcome them, it’s only when businesses get back up and running and have the confidence to get back up and running that we will see probably the way we do business will be different, but I do believe that it provides opportunities as well.”
Prior to the coronavirus, Sligo and the surrounding region had enjoyed a period of relative economic prosperity after the difficulties of the financial crash and subsequent recession at the end of the last decade.
“We had come out of the last recession, there was a sense of optimism, there was an an impact of Sligo being not only as a business place but as a tourist attraction and a place for investment,” Mr Doyle explains.
“I still think that will happen, obviously from a tourism point of view it’s the same globally so we’re all at a base here and we’ve got to build on it, but it does present opportunities to change the way we do business but it also as a place to invest it’s a good opportunity, remote working has proved to be very successful in the past.”
As for the work of the Chamber in this time, they continue to support business as best they can through a variety of various initiatives. An innovative podcast series has just begun, which allows listeners gain insight and advice from some of the north west’s leading business figures.
Mr Doyle says: “We provide support, updates, we’re active on social media. We’ve introduced podcasts in which we are talking to business leaders from this area not only about their own experiences but getting what their advice would be when this pandemic passes, so we’re doing a series of podcasts.
“We’ve done our first one with Richard Kennedy who is the current EY Entrepreneur of the Year and a Sligo native so we’re looking at the positive end of things, while first and foremost we are looking at a public health crisis we do have to look at the future, and the future for Sligo and the region.”