SME Sector
Although the benefits of the multinational sector have been discussed at length, it is the SME sector which employs 92% of people in Cork City and County. The 2016 Land Use Employment Survey undertaken by Cork City Council outlined the business demography in Cork City was comprised of:
• • •
Micro Enterprises: 74%
Small/Medium (10-49 employees): 21%
Large (50+ employees): 5%
The survey also revealed the average staff size of each business class
Micro Enterprises: 4 employees.
•
• Small/Medium (10-49 employees): 20 employees. • Large (50+ employees): 250 employees.
Micro Enterprises
Microenterprises operate across a broad range of economic sectors but are particularly concentrated in the Retail sector (761 no. or 26% of microenterprises in the city are in the Retail sector). Geographically, almost 50% of microenterprises are concentrated in the City Centre, with the fewest operating in the Northwest of the city
Small/Medium Enterprises
Small/Medium Enterprises make up 21% of the businesses and provide roughly 22% of employment within the city. Over 40% of Small/Medium enterprises (353) are in the City Centre; the next highest concentration (171) is in the Southeast. The top sectors for small/ medium enterprises are Retail and Accommodation/ Food Service.
2021 Enterprise Ireland figures showed that in 2021 in Cork City and County there were:
• 457 SMEs were supported by Enterprise Ireland. • These companies employed 24,962 people. • €41.9 million euro invested was in SMEs by Enterprise Ireland.
Social Enterprises
Social Enterprises meet or satisfy a market need which has not been addressed by either the private or state sectors. They can be driven by the passion and ambition of a social entrepreneur, a socially minded business or from the DNA within an enterprising community. The Social Enterprise sector sits in that ‘sweet spot’ between the charity sector, which provides social value primarily from grants and donations and traditional business whose primary objective is to create financial value for its owners and investors. Social Enterprise creates social impact through the provision of commercial goods and/or services while also being dependent on traded activities to remain as viable businesses.
It is estimated that there are roughly 40 active social enterprises in Cork City and County.
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