Dublin has been was praised for its success in creating outward foreign direct investment (FDI) jobs. More than 6,500 such roles were created by start-up companies based in the capital between 2016 and 2020, the second highest of all European cities bar London.
The city was also described as a “thriving hotpot in the start-up space” thanks in part to Enterprise Ireland’s funding of early-stage entrepreneurs. The State agency, which is one of the biggest investors in starts-ups globally, doubled the funding provided to companies last year, investing $56.6 million in 125 new firms.
In addition, Dublin is ranked highly for the number of FDI projects being undertaken locally. As an example, in April 2022, Mastercard unveiled its European Tech Hub in Dublin to serve as innovation engine for digital commerce. As the company’s headquarters for Mastercard’s global R&D division, it will expand its existing workforce to 2 000 people by 2025 (source). Other examples include Microsoft which is behind a $31 million engineering hub and the creation of 200 jobs.