Niamh, 9, pitches online to raise funds for dad’s firm

Who needs Dragons’ Den?

A nine-year-old girl has persuaded people around the world to invest nearly €20,000 in her father’s new business.

And Niamh Gallagher’s video pitch for cash is poised to go viral today as fans of her father’s online children’s educational game, Pora Ora, are expected to bombard social media sites with the clip.

Her dad’s company, which has an office in West Cork, has a little more than two weeks to hit its €100,000 fundraising target or all pledges are cancelled.

“It’s going brilliantly so far,” said Niamh’s dad, Neil.

“If we reach our target we hope to attract further investment from America, which will hopefully help create jobs here.”

The quirky video shows Niamh and her brothers Seán, 5, and Daragh, 8, acting out scenes to illustrate how little children’s education has changed over the years, before Niamh launches in to her sales pitch.

Mr Gallagher, 41, is a mobile telecoms entrepreneur from Arranmore Island in Co Donegal. After founding Sentaca Communications — a niche supplier of solutions and services to the mobile, telecommunications, and internet industry — he co-founded Caped Koala Studios.

It has developed Pora Ora — a free online 3D virtual world where primary school children can learn, interact, and play games that are all geared toward national curricula.

It has strict security settings and parental control and has been live for over a year, with membership expected to reach more than 500,000 by the end of the year.

Mr Gallagher said if they reached their target, they plan to create an Egyptian-themed world, introduce new Pora Pals to the game, and create a Pora Pal app and a parent app.

* www.poraora.com/kickstarter