CORK company Safe Care Technologies is preparing for the launch of a product that will allow people with disabilities to use smart technology to control lights, open doors, and turn appliances on and off.

A new centre for entrepreneurship — the Hincks Centre — has been established at Cork Institute of Technology aiming to inform national policy and education in the entrepreneurial sector.

Fifty companies from around Ireland pitched to leading Silicon Valley Venture Capitalists yesterday and the chance for the 20 best to travel to California to secure funding.

A cluster of emerging Cork-based firms have been succeeding against the economic odds in recent years.