It has been a record year for the National Digital Research Centre (NDRC) in Dublin, with figures from its annual report covering 2013-2014 showing a doubling of investment to €40m compared with the previous year.
The report comes soon after the NDRC ranked in the top 2.5pc of university business incubators worldwide as part of the Global Benchmark Report 2014 by the UBI Index. This places it as the highest-ranked Irish incubator.
Also included with the key figures of the report is the news that the market capital value of NDRC-backed ventures trebled in just one year, from €39m in 2012 to €120m in 2013 and is projected to reach €180m by the end of this year.
In terms of job numbers created through the incubator, it is estimated a total of 432 positions have been created, 300 of which are full-time positions.
Signs of continuing growth
During the time of this report, the NDRC began a number of new ventures, including FinTech, designed to support early stage financial technology companies and GamePad, an accelerator specifically designed for Ireland’s growing games industry.
Ireland’s Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, Alex White said that with the ‘ripple-effect’ of job creation, combined with the follow-on investment of €40m in NDRC ventures by the end of 2013, this report represents a real benefit to Ireland’s economy.
The NDRC’s CEO Ben Hurley also added that the report indicates signs for growth in the future.
“Our vision is to become an international leader in early stage investment and technology-based innovation. As the results of 2013-2014 show, we have gone a long way to achieving this,” Hurley said.
“NDRC has achieved a huge amount in our short history and by analysing the key performance indicators of job creation, market capital and follow-on investment, it is clear that the organisation is continuing to help develop Ireland’s technology base.”