Irish SMEs awarded funding by EU

Irish companies are top of the pile in terms of securing investment from a new EU SME fund with a fifth of applicants receiving €50,000.

Ireland had the greatest success rate of EU countries in accessing the European Commission’s €3bn SME instrument, followed by Austria (14%), the UK (11%) and Spain (9%).

The fund, which is part of the EU’s €80bn Horizon 2020 strategy, is to be spread among 155 small businesses in 21 countries with each receiving an initial €50,000.