Demystifying the Chinese Opportunity For Ambitious Irish Companies

The Ireland China Business Association (ICBA) had the pleasure of hosting the second event in our "Demystifying the Chinese Opportunity" series with support from Huckletree this week.

The aim of this series is to Educate and Inspire ambitious Irish companies to look east and to see what opportunities exist in China. With a list of speakers including Susan Hayes, Paul Murray, John Byrne, Brian Goff, Noel Kealey and Ming Yang the audience were left with plenty of food for thought.

Having been closely involved with this series of events, a couple of key elements have emerged for me:

• There is a serious wealth of knowledge and experience among Irish entrepreneurs who have been to China, done business there, learned the lessons and built successful businesses.
• These entrepreneurs are extremely willing to share their insights and help those who are just starting out on the road.
• There is serious momentum in this space. Having just returned from a Dublin Chamber trade mission to Hong Kong, I saw first hand the scale of opportunity that exists in both Hong Kong and mainland China. I was also fortunate enough to meet with Irish business people who are successfully driving their businesses forward in a competitive marketplace.
• Doing business in China is not easy. That said, if you educate yourself, invest the necessary time and resources, the scale of opportunity will reward the brave.

As a council member of the ICBA, I am lucky to get some first hand experience of doing business in China. For anyone who is looking to take their first steps along this path of discovery, I would strongly suggest checking out the association and start demystifying the chinese opportunity for yourself.