BICs engaged 1,000 clients in three years, says report

Rosemary Ward, PropelorBIC; Dan Murphy, AxisBIC; Majella Murphy, Furthr; Martin Murray, Furthr; Mary Ryan, WestBIC; Aidan Shine, PropelorBIC; Fionnuala Wall, AxisBIC and John Brennan, WestBIC. Picture: Shane O'Neill, Coalesce

Business Innovation Centres (BICs) engaged with more than 1,000 new clients in the years from 2022 to 2024, a new impact report has stated. 

During this timeframe, there were 143 successful Pre-Seed Start Fund (PSSF) applications, according to the report, while 157 companies received Innovative High Potential Start-Up (IHPSU) funding. 

The four BICs are AxisBIC - covering Clare, Cork, Kerry and Limerick; Furthr - covering Cavan, Dublin, Kildare, Louth, Meath, Monaghan, and Wicklow; Propelor - covering Carlow, Kilkenny, Laois, Offaly, Tipperary, Waterford, and Wexford; and  WestBIC - covering Donegal, Galway, Leitrim, Longford, Mayo, Roscommon.

As well as offering mentorship to innovative and scaling businesses, Irish BICs provide support to early-stage companies applying to Enterprise Ireland for PSSF and IHPSU funding. The BICs also collaborate with Enterprise Ireland on preparation and investor-readiness programmes.

“The four BICs have been providing specialised supports and services to start-ups for 35 years," said Enterprise Ireland's head of start-ups and entrepreneurship Conor O'Donovan.

"This report highlights the dynamic ecosystem in Ireland for supporting innovative startups such as Ground Wellbeing, Assiduous, Tailr, and ByoWave. We hope their success inspires others to contact the BICs for assistance with developing their business proposition."

Chair of the Irish BICs, Martin Murray, said the impact report highlights the crucial role played by the Irish BICs in helping innovative start-ups to grow and develop into a successful enterprise. "By coming together under the one umbrella, we are strengthening our message that our experienced mentors are on hand to help overcome all the challenges a new business faces.”