Around 70 new jobs are set to be created in Ireland in the next six months by new ventures in the digital technology space that are supported by the National Digital Research Centre (NDRC) in Dublin.
This morning, Ireland’s Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation Richard Bruton, TD, announced the jobs news while launching the NDRC’s annual report.
According to the report, the NDRC has helped to create more than 250 jobs in digital ventures to date. More than 70 projects and businesses have emerged from the NDRC portfolio in the past four years. Start-ups that have spun out of the NDRC have created 155 new full-time jobs and 66 part-time jobs, an increase from 36 last year.
The NDRC is anticipating that a further 70 new jobs will be created by these businesses in the next six months.
Cumulative investment from commercial investors into ventures emerging from NDRC has doubled to €9.6m, building on last year’s figure of €4.8m. In addition, the centre estimates that the valuation of ventures emerging from NDRC has almost trebled, from €10.1m in last year’s report to €28.8m in this year’s report.
The report also pointed to how more than 300 start-up opportunities were evaluated and advised by the NDRC during the year. It said that close to 1,000 researchers, entrepreneurs and innovators participated in NDRC events related to innovation across digital industry areas.
The NDRC itself focuses on digital technology start-ups in centres that include data analytics, mobile, education, enterprise, media and communications, content technology and consumer services.
Speaking this morning, NDRC CEO Ben Hurley said the results show that the NDRC is continuing to “punch above its weight” in attracting investment and creating jobs.
“We are tapping promising science-inspired opportunities, and creating companies worthy of commercial investment. We are recognised as the ‘go to’ partner for stimulating innovation,” he said.
