The Sligo Business Innovation Centre at IT Sligo (ITSBIC) has been officially opened by Minister for Science, Technology and Innovation, Dr Jimmy Devins TD.
The centre was funded under the Enterprise Ireland Campus Incubation Centre Programme and has already opened its doors to 18 companies employing 40 people between them.
Devins said the institutes of technology have a unique and critical role to play in achieving the goal of balanced regional development.
“The Government’s €8.2bn Strategy for Science, Technology and Innovation recommended that we focus on building up the research and innovation functions of institutes such as Sligo IT so it can nurture new start-up companies and develop innovative solutions for existing companies in Sligo and the north west. I am pleased to see such strong progress at this early stage with companies such as Nutrisolve, Nooked and Omniscience, which started out at TSBIC, going on to run successful businesses in Sligo.”
“Incubation centres improve greatly the survival and growth prospects of start-up campus companies,” said Feargal Ó Móráin, executive director of Enterprise Ireland. “Enterprise Ireland has invested €38m in such facilities in the institutes of technology. The centres are now bases for 176 companies employing 641 people.”
“Business incubators such as ITSBIC have a proven record of dramatically increasing the success rate of start-up businesses,” said Janette Gillen, centre manager, ITSBIC. “Technology-based start-ups of any kind benefit enormously from access to the expertise, facilities and equipment.”
ITSBIC welcomes enquiries from entrepreneurs looking to set up a new business or existing companies of any size looking to carry out research and development using ITSBIC and IT Sligo facilities.
By Niall Byrne
