AIB renews Ludgate Hub sponsorship for three more years

18 Oct 2019

From left: John Field, Colin Hunt, Adrienne Harrington, John O'Doherty, Sean O'Driscoll and Denis O'Callaghan. Image: AIB

Since becoming the Ludgate Hub’s primary sponsor in 2015, AIB has run a number of events with the Skibbereen co-working space to encourage networking and learning.

Today (18 October), AIB announced that it will be renewing its sponsorship of the Ludgate Hub in Skibbereen for a further three years.

The hub, which facilitates around 75 people in its co-working space, is now worth €4.2m to the local economy, according to a recent study by Vodafone economist Jim Power.

Founded in 2015, the Ludgate Hub has the long term objective of creating 500 direct jobs and 1,000 indirect jobs in Skibbereen and the wider Cork area.

The hub is now home to 21 companies including xSellco, Vilicom and Stori Creative, covering industries such as biotech, aviation services, e-commerce and media production.

AIB signed up as the Ludgate Hub’s primary sponsor in 2015, and it has since worked alongside the team at Ludgate to help establish a thriving business community.

‘The work Ludgate is doing to develop a sustainable digital economy in West Cork is something we at AIB are proud to support’
– COLIN HUNT

The bank has collaborated with the hub to run events such as the Annual Agritech Day, which showcases developments in the agritech world, given the importance of agriculture in the economy of the region.

AIB also runs the First Tuesday event in the Ludgate Hub, which is a networking morning on the first Tuesday of each month.

In recent months, the bank held a Brexit workshop, where chief economist Oliver Mangan spoke to the businesses in Skibbereen about the potential impact of Brexit and what they need to do to prepare.

CEO of AIB, Colin Hunt, said: “As Ireland’s leading digitally enabled bank, we are delighted to announce the renewal of our Ludgate digital hub sponsorship for a further three years.

“The work Ludgate is doing to develop a sustainable digital economy in West Cork is something we at AIB are proud to support through this sponsorship and through our involvement in the various events and initiatives at Ludgate.”

Adrienne Harrington, CEO of the Ludgate Hub, added: “We are thrilled to have AIB renew its commitment to Ludgate as primary sponsor of the digital hub for another three years.

“AIB’s backing has been instrumental in helping Ludgate develop as Ireland’s leading digital hub over the last number of years and we look forward to working alongside them as we grow Ludgate over the coming years.”

Kelly Earley was a journalist with Silicon Republic

editorial@siliconrepublic.com