Where should Ireland's SMEs look for future wealth?
Five years ago, it would have been WWW - the World Wide Web, the Internet and ecommerce.
Over the next five years, it will be wind, waste and wellness.
Wind refers to renewable electricity generation. Ireland has an urgent need to replace its over-dependence on fossil fuels with energy from renewables such as wind, solar and tidal power. Though some aspects of the renewables sector are capital intensive, others are based on services and people skills.
Waste refers to the other key issue facing Ireland - that of collecting, processing and disposing of waste. There's euro as well as brass in muck, and again, significant opportunities will arise for SMEs to deliver products and services in relation to the full gamut of the burgeoning waste industry.
Wellness is a little less obvious than the first two. It refers to a trend we have been monitoring in Amבrach in relation to consumer lifestyles. Ireland's affluent, middle-ageing population is feeling a little more mortal than it did as the 'youngest Europeans'. People are increasingly interested in 'promoting wellness' and not just in 'treating illness'. Consumers will spend over E1 billion this year on mind, body and spirit related products, services and experiences. For many SMEs, there will never be a greater opportunity to meet a demand that is guaranteed by demographic destiny to just keep growing and growing over the next twenty years.
A report made by Amarach Consulting