Dear Colleagues & Friends,
What a year 2022 has been. We have seen our country recover quickly post-COVID, with many of us continuing to wrestle with the aftermath of and changes to our lifestyle and working habits.
Much has changed in the world, COVID, Brexit and then the war in the Ukraine have all had knock on impacts on the country, and despite it all our economy has continued to grow and we in the West have also felt the ripple effects from these events.
Many of you have spoken about the war for talent, and we have seen real challenges in access to accommodation, traffic and then thinking about and getting access to new markets.
All of this hasn’t stopped us continuing to grow and invest in the GTC, and we have seen our mandate broaden to encompass a regional focus to support building out a connected network across the West.
In support of this objective, we have grown the team, Thomas Fisher is now installed as the Centre Manager. Enterprise Ireland supported the leadership roles appointed in 2022. Noreen Conway has the Regional Collaboration brief and Brian Muldoon has come on board as Scaling Manager.
Our mandate to support startups, scale ups and to continue to attract investment remains and our ambition to support innovation and support globally scalable companies from the West is at the centre of what we do and who we are.
This year has also seen us start the construction of the AcademyWest extension. Our Taoiseach Micheál Martin joined us in September to celebrate this. We expect the new building to be handed over next June.
A huge reason we have been successful is down to the very real sense of team I have felt since I walked through the door. Collaboration with each other and with stakeholders in the region support that sense of community and partnerships, new and old will enable that growth ambition.
And much has happened by many people this year. We welcomed new members to our community and are now home to over 350 people. We worked with many existing members who have expanded; BuyMedia, MedScan3D, Aptarus, Centripetal, Hillwalk Tours, Chipright, Qpercom to name but a few. This expansion is set to continue as members grow their teams in 2023, attracting innovative new people from near and far to work and live in our community; bringing new skills and new perspectives with them to Galway.
Now it is time to rest and reflect. Enjoy your break, indulge yourselves and your families!
Nollaig shona daoibh go léir.
Oliver Daniels
