Apr 24, 2019   SOURCE: BusinessWire

Avolon: Positioning Ireland at the Forefront of Global Start-up Innovation

Avolon Holdings Limited (“Avolon”), the international aircraft leasing company, announces the publication of a White Paper, Project i, which assesses Ireland’s start-up ‘ecosystem’ when compared to best-in-class around the world. Project i provides recommendations on how to close the gap with international best-practices; improve Ireland’s global standing and provide the necessary support for entrepreneurs.

The full report is available on the Avolon website at: https://www.avolon.aero/thoughts

Dómhnal Slattery, Avolon CEO, commented:

“At Avolon we are passionate about our obligation to help and enable entrepreneurial endeavours. Given our success since start-up, we feel a responsibility to promote innovation and encourage other Irish companies to scale globally, thereby delivering economic benefits to stakeholders, investors and to Ireland itself.

Project i is a report that has Ireland’s best economic interests at its core. It is intended to be a straightforward diagnostic of the health of Ireland’s start-up ecosystem when compared and contrasted with the best in the world. The paper contains practical recommendations outlining where Ireland can improve its start-up ecosystem.

Project i’s remit is to strategically critique and encourage, not criticise. The paper highlights where we feel changes are needed within our ecosystem, it underlines the need for collective action, with all stakeholders working in cohesion and collaboration. Our goal is to position Ireland at the forefront of global start-up innovation.

We are a small island nation but Ireland still plays a leading role in world commerce. We can all be proud of our impact and our influence which is felt wherever global capital flows. Ireland’s economic advantages are many, but what differentiates us is our ability to adapt and be nimble.

With a global reputation for business acumen, imagination and work ethic, we are uniquely placed to be a global start-up leader. Project i is our contribution to that goal, and our research demonstrates that achieving it and all of the societal benefits that travel with it, requires the commitment of our educators, government, business community and diaspora.

The challenges are real, but the goal is absolutely attainable. We believe the benefits - keeping our best and brightest, attracting our diaspora home, driving employment, increasing government revenue and energizing our youth - are worth the effort.”

Project i

Project i is the outcome of a significant research project undertaken by Avolon to identify how Ireland can position itself at the forefront of global start-up innovation; and sustain that position over the coming decades. The report outlines the five stages in the evolution of successful start-up businesses: Education; Early Stage Funding; Acceleration; Venture Funding; and Growth & Exit. The report details each of these five ‘Essentials for Success’; how Ireland currently performs relative to global best-in-class; and includes recommendations for ensuring the best outcome for start-up innovators at each stage.

Success at each stage is built on the availability of: world-class talent; mentors who have experience scaling companies; and ‘smart capital’. While Ireland has an abundance of talent, the mentor network is not developed and sufficiently effective and there is a significant deficiency of high-quality risk capital.

Underlying each of the five stages is also a strong culture. Even where each stage is perfectly resourced, if the right culture is not in place, the system will not reach its potential. Led by the Government, Ireland needs to: communicate its ambition to succeed globally; build and sustain an ‘ecosystem’ which is recognised globally as best-in-class for start-up innovation; and foster an environment and understanding that failure is often a necessary step towards success.

ENDS

About Avolon

Headquartered in Ireland, with offices in the United States, Dubai, Singapore, Hong Kong and Shanghai, Avolon provides aircraft leasing and lease management services. Avolon is 70% owned by an indirect subsidiary of Bohai Leasing Co., Ltd., a public company listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange (SLE: 000415) and 30% owned by ORIX Aviation Systems, a subsidiary of ORIX Corporation which is listed on the Tokyo and New York Stock Exchanges (TSE: 8591; NYSE: IX). Avolon is the world’s third largest aircraft leasing business with an owned, managed and committed fleet, as of 31 March 2019 of 951 aircraft.

Website: www.avolon.aero

Twitter: @avolon_aero