John Slattery, AIB, Cork; Frank Walsh, Enterprise Equity, co-manager of AIB Seed Capital Fund; Dr Brendan Murphy, resident, CIT; and Paul Healy, general manager, Rubicon Centre, in Cork yesterday evening. Photo by Neil Danton Photography
The AIB Seed Capital Fund is to give €50,000 seed capital for one participant on the Genesis Enterprise Programme, based at Cork Institute of Technology’s Rubicon Centre, helping them take their venture to the next level in 2012.
Each of the participants on the current 2011/12 Genesis programme is in with a chance of winning this €50,000 seed capital prize, placing the winner in a very strong position to develop and grow their business to its full potential, said Paul Healy, general manager of the Rubicon Centre at the announcement last night.
The current Genesis participants come from a variety of industries, including electronics, energy conservation, e-commerce, food production, healthcare, software development, technical writing and wireless communications.
In March 2012, at the end of the 2011/ 2012 Genesis programme, each participating business will be presented to the public during the annual showcase exhibition. Along with other significant prizes, the recipient of the funding from AIB Seed Capital will be announced at this event.
Speaking last night, Frank Walsh, a partner in Enterprise Equity, co-manager of AIB Seed Capital Fund, said incubation programmes such as Genesis play an important part in stimulating and supporting entrepreneurship.
“Both AIB Seed Capital Fund and Enterprise Equity are delighted to be associated with both the Rubicon Centre and the Cork Institute of Technology.”
Business incubation
Genesis is the Rubicon’s flagship development programme and its main focus is to provide supports to businesses, enabling them to grow and increase employment. To date, Genesis has assisted more than 200 individuals and teams in starting and growing their businesses.
The Genesis Enterprise Programme, which is jointly funded by Cork Institute of Technology and Enterprise Ireland, is recruiting participants for the next programme, starting in March 2012. Further details can be found on the Rubicon Centre website.
