Child safety technology company KidSpotter is to receive €200,000 in private funding from HBAN Investor Syndicates on top of the €200,000 it already has secured from Enterprise Ireland.
Entrepreneurs Liam Darling and Andrew Dunne set up KidSpotter in 2006. The company develops child safety tracking systems and sells these to high footfall locations, like theme parks and shopping malls.
Using wireless technologies, the solution allows parents to keep track of children and locate them quickly if they get lost. The KidSpotter gadget that is worn by children is styled on a wrist-band or watch. It monitors where a child is via GPS or wireless signals, using the internet or a mobile phone. Alerts to qualified personnel are raised if a child encounters an emergency situation or wanders beyond a certain area.
A range of commercial opportunities
Dunne said: “The impact of this round of funding has been immediate, allowing us to invest further in product development, sales and marketing.
“We are pursuing a range of commercial opportunities and intend on bringing new products to market, including child tracking technologies for everyday use. The HBAN Investor Syndicate also includes a number of individuals whose expertise and knowledge has brought an instant benefit to the business and we hope to draw on this in the future as we continue to grow.”
HBAN Investor Syndicates
A joint initiative of InterTradeIreland and Enterprise Ireland, HBAN Investor Syndicates was set up last year. It focuses on supporting companies seeking to raise financing of between €250,000 and €1.25m by linking entrepreneurs to individual investors or investment syndicates.
Four of HBAN’s investor groups currently have up to €10m in hand to invest in promising new businesses over the next three years. Including KidSpotter, the syndicates have placed more than €1m of investment into emerging Irish companies in the third quarter of 2010.
KidSpotter’s clients already include the globe’s second largest operator of theme parks, Merlin Entertainment, which has deployed KidSpotter at Alton Towers and Chessington World of Adventures and Zoo in the UK. KidSpotter will shortly be deploying systems in the first of its US sites.
Article courtesy of Bizstartup.ie
