An Irish platform that offers businesses access to a wide array of funding has taken South Africa by storm since its launch two years ago. It is now the number one business funding platform in the country, based on web traffic.
Swoop Funding was launched in 2018 to help businesses in need of loans, grants or other forms of financing and has since grown its portfolio to serve 200,000 clients in Ireland, South Africa, the UK, Australia, the US and Canada. Swoop operates across various sectors, working with businesses with turnovers ranging from €100,000 (about R2.1m) to €20m.
In South Africa, Swoop has seen a 150% quarter-on-quarter growth, helping more than 25,000 businesses to raise more than R200m. It is one of the most successful exports from Ireland as the European island state assists its home-grown businesses to aggressively expand their operations, with Africa seen as the next big growth frontier.
Total trade between Ireland and African countries grew 7.9% from €2.4bn in 2023 to €2.6bn in 2024. Trade in services stood at €6.1bn in 2023.
Ireland’s agri-food exports to Africa were valued at €914m in 2024, up 7% from 2023 levels. Its five largest export markets in Africa in 2023 were:
- South Africa (€388m);
- Egypt (€279m);
- Morocco (€224m);
- Guinea (€152m); and
- Algeria (€126m).
Doreen McKeown, manager for sub-Saharan Africa at Enterprise Ireland — the government agency supporting companies in expanding their global footprint — said they were working with more than 150 companies operating in sectors such as digital technologies, aviation, agritech, food and beverage, education services and smart construction.
Enterprise Ireland connects Irish companies with opportunities, including potential customers, partners, and investors in Africa, through a network of market advisors and consultants. We always encourage our clients to take a base in the market where they are looking to scale up in.
— Doreen McKeown, manager for sub-Saharan Africa at Enterprise Ireland
Prominent Irish companies operating in Africa include Combilift, Kerry Group, ICON, Aerogen, Easyfix, Kirby Engineering, Setanta College, Alltech-Keenan, Bimeda, Serosep, Swoop and Solgari.
McKeown said a substantial number of their client companies are operating in South Africa, with Irish firms invested in 31 projects valued at R67bn.
Apart from South Africa, Enterprise Ireland’s other key focus markets are Nigeria and Kenya.
McKeown cited ICON as an example of an Irish company that has expertise in more than 27 African countries, specialising in infectious diseases, sickle-cell anaemia and oncology.
She said Enterprise Ireland offered a range of services to companies seeking to expand in Africa, including market validation — where they help the entity understand market dynamics, market potential and test for market-fit.
They also provide business development support by identifying opportunities for the companies and assisting them as they make procurement decisions. The agency also offers them access to key contacts and a buyer network in the country they choose to invest in.
“Enterprise Ireland connects Irish companies with opportunities, including potential customers, partners and investors in Africa, through a network of market advisers and consultants. We always encourage our clients to take a base in the market where they are looking to scale up in,” she said.
Speaking at the Africa-Ireland Trade Horizons conference held in Dublin last month, Niamh Smyth, Ireland's minister of trade promotion, said her country viewed Africa as a continent of opportunity.
"[It is] working with African pathfinders to create trusted advisers in each region who provide boots on the ground to better service Irish enterprises that are already doing business on the continent, and those looking to expand into it,” Smyth said.
Neale Richmond, Irish minister of state for international development & diaspora, told Business Times that some Irish companies had cited difficulties in navigating governance and bureaucracy layers as impediments to further investment on the continent.
“It’s governance and bureaucracy. The layers of government can be quite hard to navigate ... It’s just getting through the bureaucratic process, but equally knowing that contracts will be honoured, bills will be paid,” he said.
“There is still a bit of convincing for us to do when it comes to Irish businesses, because there is hesitancy in relation to governance and bureaucracy.”
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