Two women stand with their arms folded in a cosy room.
Joleen Looney and Karina Kelly of Content Llama. Image: Andrew Downes

Donegal’s Content Llama to create 20 jobs after raising €2.5m

11 Nov 2021

The start-up, which develops tech to link brands and online retailers, is growing its team with remote roles.

Donegal-based tech start-up Content Llama has secured €2.5m in funding to expand its presence globally.

The company currently employs 42 people, including 16 staff in Ireland and employees across Ukraine, Portugal, the Netherlands, South Africa and Spain.

With the fresh financing, it plans to create up to 20 new roles over the next 12 months, including positions in product engineering, customer success and business development.

Content Llama, founded by Karina Kelly and Joleen Looney in 2019, has developed a platform that automates the collection, configuration and delivery of product content for e-commerce retailers.

It delivers product descriptions and images directly to online retailers. The team works with more than 3,600 brands around the world to configure content for clients such as Walmart, Aer Rianta International and Lifestyle Sports.

It is now looking to build on this client base internationally, with a focus on the US market from its Chicago base.

The fresh funding round was led by Elkstone Partners and the Western Development Commission, and the company has been backed previously by Enterprise Ireland.

“Online retailers are crying out for solutions to make selling as frictionless as possible and we’ve witnessed first-hand how Content Llama is removing pain points and increasing efficiency for its customers,” said Kate Fullen, venture analyst at Elkstone Partners.

“With a global problem at hand and the global ambition to match it, the future for Content Llama is hugely promising.”

Content Llama CEO Kelly, who was recently nominated for Enterprise Ireland’s Founder of the Year, said the €2.5m funding means the company can “expedite our global growth in the e-commerce retail space”.

“Investment in our technology and people at this stage of the company’s development is crucial to Content Llama owning the content configuration space,” she added.

Kelly said hiring for new roles would help the start-up meet its goals over the coming years, growing “important parts of the business” such as product. She added that the majority of the jobs will be 100pc remote.

Niall McEvoy, manager in Enterprise Ireland’s High Potential Start-Up unit, said the success of Content Llama “demonstrates the ability of start-up companies to scale, grow and create high-quality employment in every region of Ireland”.

Tomás Ó Síocháin, CEO of the Western Development Commission, added that it highlights the opportunities in particular for start-ups in the digital economy based in the west of the country.

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Sarah Harford
By Sarah Harford

Sarah Harford was sub-editor of Silicon Republic for three and a half years.

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