Bid to attract entrepreneurs back with €10m fund
A €10 million start-up fund — administered by Enterprise Ireland — will be open to company promoters worldwide, but will target those who have previously worked or studied in Ireland and are now living abroad.
Key target sectors include internet, cloud computing, and medtech. The fund will be aimed at investor-ready projects seeking between €200,000 and €500,000. Funding will be in the form of an equity stake taken by the state.
Enterprise Ireland will be appointing high-profile Irish entrepreneurs to act as start-up ambassadors for the programme. Tech entrepreneur, Dylan Collins is one of the first to accept the role of fund ambassador.
Enterprise Minister Richard Bruton said: “This Government’s ambition is not only to turn the country around and get employment growing again, but to once again create a dynamic economy that is the envy of the world and has over two million people at work. This will not be easy, but one key strand of our new industrial strategy will be to create a genuine indigenous engine of growth.
“As I have said before, our ambition must not only be to attract the next Google or Microsoft to Ireland, but we must also seek to grow the next Google or Microsoft in Ireland,” Mr Bruton said.
Indigenous companies provide proportionally three times more benefit to the Irish economy than multinational companies.”
The minister said there is no reason why Ireland should not be a global centre for international start-ups.
Enterprise Ireland chief, Frank Ryan, said they want mobile entrepreneurs to see Enterprise Ireland as their dedicated partner. He said the scheme is an excellent way to build on Ireland’s position as one of Europe’s leading start-up hubs.
