Irish Gen Z Are Twice as Likely to Start a Business

Irish Gen Z adults are twice as likely as the average adult to consider starting their own business, according to research commissioned by Visa. The study puts the figure at 18% of Gen Z adults in Ireland, compared with 9% of adults overall. Released during the national fashion showcase in early October 2026, the findings point to a generation turning business ambition into action. Technology sits at the heart of the shift: nine in ten young Irish adults say digital tools have made it significantly easier to start a business and grow it.

Fashion offers the clearest window into how that ambition is playing out. A separate survey of designers taking part in the showcase found that 92% believe technology has made entrepreneurship a reality for them, while 90% say being technologically savvy is now just as important as creativity when building and running a fashion business. The numbers describe a generation that refuses to choose between craft and digital fluency when they start a business.

Confidence is running high among the designers polled. Some 92% expect turnover to increase over the next year, while more than a third anticipate growth of more than twenty percent. Cardholder data underlines why: almost half of fashion transactions in Ireland now take place online, with payment volumes in the sector growing year on year and opening new routes to customers beyond traditional retail for anyone who wants to start a business in fashion.

The Digital Toolkit Behind the Ambition

Artificial intelligence is fast becoming part of the founder toolkit. Half of the designers surveyed said AI is now an essential business tool, while 54% believe it is helping independent brands compete more effectively with larger industry players. Trust is keeping pace with innovation: 84% of designers identified secure online payments as the capability that matters most once you start a business and take it online.

Ines Obtinalla, head of marketing at Visa Ireland, said the findings capture a generational shift. "The next generation of Irish entrepreneurs is coming of age in a digital-first economy," she said. "The designers participating in Ireland Fashion Week show what is possible when creativity is combined with digital capability." Ashley McDonnell, the founder of the event, added that the showcase was built to help designers grow commercially as well as creatively, through year-round bootcamps and experiences that connect the public with Irish fashion.

For emerging designer Bray Zhang, the theory is already practice. Social media discovered his work before he had a website, he explained, and technology now handles everything from his online shop to day-to-day operations, freeing him to focus on design. It is a small-scale version of the pattern in the data: tools that once required a team now fit on a laptop.

What It Means for Would-Be Founders

The playbook for those about to start a business is consistent. Digital skills matter as much as the product itself, selling online early beats waiting for a storefront, and treating payments as a trust signal rather than an afterthought is what the designers rate most important. The research also suggests AI is best used as leverage: automating the routine so founders can spend time on the creative work that differentiates them.

Ambition alone does not remove the old barriers. Funding, mentorship and confidence still decide who gets to start a business and who stalls at the idea stage, gaps that hit women founders particularly hard. Deciding to start a business is one thing; sustaining one is another. Programmes such as Visa's She's Next grant initiative for women-owned businesses in Ireland exist precisely because capital and coaching remain unevenly distributed, a reminder that the digital doorway is open wider for some than others.

The data deserves a clear-eyed read. The consumer research was an online survey of one thousand Irish adults, carried out in late August 2026 with a confidence level of plus or minus two and a half percent, and defined Gen Z as ages eighteen to twenty-nine. The designer survey polled fifty designers participating in the showcase between late August and mid-September 2026, and its findings describe those designers specifically rather than the entire Irish fashion industry. The cardholder figures cover Irish Visa spend from August 2025 to July 2026, as reported by Irish Tech News.

Taken together, the figures describe entrepreneurship being reshaped from the bottom up: lower startup costs, borderless customers and AI doing the heavy lifting. If you are weighing whether to start a business, the evidence from Ireland suggests the runway is shorter than it used to be. More young founders are also finding support through dedicated programmes, like eBay's Self Made initiative for young entrepreneurs. Explore more stories on the side hustles beat to see how young people are turning ideas into income.