International tendering is an enormous business opportunity for Irish SMEs. What is Ireland doing and can we do more to help Irish firms win international tenders?
Seamus McCann (above right), chairman of ConsultingIreland, wants to encourage more Irish SMEs to tender for global projects.
The projects are paid for by international bodies such as the European Commission, the UN and the World Bank and, in many cases, 60% of the project value is paid upfront to the business that wins the tender.
Below, McCann outlines the reasons why Ireland needs to allocate additional resources to compete and win in an area with such massive potential.
Did you know?
• On a daily basis, there are 200,000 projects put out to tender by International Financial Institutions (IFIs) such as the EU and World Bank. Two hundred thousand.
• IFI global tenders have an eye-watering market value of €1 trillion-plus per annum.
• Irish organisations and SMEs have excellent international reputations, built up over many years.
• EU and World Bank (and other ‘service and supply’) tenders are available across sectors such as transport, water, energy, ICT, agriculture, health, and education.
• Many of our more established European partners (e.g. France and Germany) are already engaging, highly trained Irish experts, for International (IFI) assignments – in part, because of their English language skills.
• Significantly, English is also the language of choice for most global (IFI) tenders.
• In many cases, company cash flows can benefit from advances of up to 60% and payments are generally prompt.
• In emerging markets, public sector activity is also a prelude to private sector involvement.
• UK political uncertainty, fanned by Brexit, may present significant opportunities for Ireland.
So, there you have it. Tendering for international projects can be very lucrative.
“Denmark, a country very similar to Ireland, is winning
