A fund worth up to €750,000 has been made available for start-ups by Enterprise Ireland.
The “competitive start fund competition” will open for applications to early stage companies in manufacturing and internationally traded services on September 13th.
The competition is open to all sectors with a focus on agricultural, manufacturing, life sciences and renewables subsectors.
Up to 15 successful applicants will receive high-level business development support and an investment of up to €50,000 each. The fund is designed to “accelerate the growth of start-ups and enable companies to reach key commercial and technical milestones”.
Joe Healy, divisional manager of high potential start-ups with Enterprise Ireland, said a key priority was "supporting start-ups with global ambition".
“We do this through funding to help get businesses off the ground while also offering valuable business support and networking opportunities,” he said.
“The Enterprise Ireland start-up team is looking for applications from start-ups working in all sectors. In particular, the areas of agritech, agribusiness, agricultural machinery, eHealth, digital health, medical devices, diagnostics and cleantech.
Innovative ideas
“Since the start of the year, we’ve seen an increased number of applications to our competitive start funds and we are anticipating more great, innovative ideas with global market appeal in this call.”
Minister for Enterprise Frances Fitzgerald said start-ups offering innovative products and services were "the lifeblood of the economy".
“Enterprise Ireland’s competitive start fund injects vital early stage funding into companies who have the potential to thrive in international markets,” he said.
“Now that the rates of early stage entrepreneurship in Ireland have returned to pre-recession levels, the success of start-up activity will depend on this kind of funding as well as the crucial advice, training and business introductions offered by Enterprise Ireland to successful CSF applicants.”
Applications are invited from companies that are active in the relevant industrial sectors or individuals who, prior to Enterprise Ireland’s investment, are based in the Republic and have a headquarters registered here.
In addition to written online applications, companies will be asked to prepare an online video pitch. The fund will close for applications at 3pm on September 27th.
