Enterprise Ireland says that tomorrow it will be launching a new Competitive Start Fund to support companies in the life sciences, clean tech and industrial sectors. Fifteen companies will receive €50k for a 10pc equity stake.
The launch of the new fund follows the success of the Competitive Start Fund pilots for the software sector in December 2010 and February 2011.
From a fund of €750,000, 15 companies will be selected to receive an investment of €50,000 for a 10pc ordinary equity stake.
The investment will be made in two equal tranches. The selected companies will be required to secure additional investment of €5,000 prior to the release of Enterprise Ireland’s investment.
Shortlisted applicants will be required to deliver a short investment pitch to a panel of industry experts and Enterprise Ireland.
Funding for early stage companies
Enterprise Ireland set up the Competitive Funds as a mechanism to get financial support into early stage companies at the critical product market fit stage of their projects.
Each of the successful applicant companies receives an equity investment of €50,000 for a 10pc ordinary equity stake, along with the support of an experienced business mentor to guide them as they develop their business.
Following on the huge interest in the initial pilot fund for internet and games projects, Enterprise Ireland expanded its offer with a second fund that was also open to software companies in the games, telecoms, software as a service (SaaS), cloud computing and enterprise software sectors.
This third round of the fund now expands the initiative to life sciences, clean tech and industrial companies.
