Eamonn Sayers  is the CEO of the Guinness Enterprise Centre (GEC), a Dublin based non-profit coworking and startup incubator. Located in an underprivileged area of the Irish capital, the GEC plays a major role in boosting the local start-up scene and neighbourhood. Beyond that, the GEC supports a lot of initiatives on the national level, working as the entrepreneurial touch down hub of entrepreneurs operating from more than 40 entrepreneurial centres from across the country.

The current Covid-19 crisis has been no reason to stop their expansion plans, that is why we have interviewed Eammon, to find out more about the Guinness Enterprise Centre and their expansions plans.

In the coming months, GEC will complete a building extension that will increase the hosting capacity of the coworking space and incubator to 160 startups.

Eamonn Sayers explains how GEC is complementary to the rest of the coworking ecosystem in Dublin and articulates its offering with the rest of the market : “Are you a starter when you can afford to work from one of the nice new coworking brands locations which are now operating across the city? Actually, we fill in their pipe as our successful entrepreneurs, once their team has grown up, can’t anymore be accommodated within the GEC building. Hence, they are happy to move to new convenient coworking environment that are now available in Dublin”.

In terms of engagement with the rest of the country, GEC is involved in a program aiming at convincing the rural diaspora to give back to their historical community once they have succeeded in their activity. The goal is to keep jobs and startups in the countryside by using coworking and enterprise centres to connect rural spaces with the Dublin ecosystems and foreign networks.

Check out the full interview by clicking here.

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