Venture capital funding to SMEs hits €400m

Venture capital funding to SMEs rose over 40% to €401m last year, the highest level seen for 10 years.

More than 80% of monies raised went towards funding company expansion, according to the annual VenturePulse survey from the Irish Venture Capital Association.

The €401m raised compares to €285m in 2013 and 13% of the 2014 pot was raised abroad (mainly from Silicon Valley) by five Irish firms.