A new €90 million fund for start-up businesses will be available to enterprises in the food and agri-technology sectors, the government has said.
The fund was launched this morning (Wednesday, February 9) by Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment Leo Varadkar, and Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe.
The ‘Irish Innovation Seed Fund Programme’ is aimed at providing capital to Irish companies “at the crucial seed stage”.
Investment will be targeted and prioritised in areas such as regional development, climate change and female entrepreneurship.
Specifically, it will focus on sectors that have experienced difficulty in attracting early stage investment.
These sectors include:
- Life sciences;
- Healthcare and pharmaceuticals;
- Financial technology (‘Fintech’);
- Technology and digitalisation;
- Food and agri-technology;
- Sustainability and climate change;
- Women-led enterprises.
Launching the programme today at Trinity College, Minister Varadkar said: “This is about backing Irish entrepreneurs and their ideas at an early stage, giving them a much-needed boost from the beginning.
“We’re looking for companies working in a number of areas we’ve identified as strategic opportunities for Ireland but have traditionally struggled in attracting early-stage investment,” he added.
The minister went on: “One of my three priorities as Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment is to get to the point where we have 2.5 million people at work in Ireland by 2024, which would be the highest level of employment we’ve ever had in the country.
“This fund is an important part of that, we have to reward those creating the jobs of the future and help them reach the next stage of development.”
Minister Donohoe said the fund “is an important step in supporting our indigenous, high innovation enterprises to reach their full potential”.
The fund is financed three different ways – through the European Investment Fund; Enterprise Ireland; and the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund participating as a co-investor.
Each body will allocate €30 million to the fund.
“The growth of indigenous business is a cornerstone of our economic model and working together, these funding partners will deliver an ambitious programme which will support our SMEs [small and medium enterprises] now, and as they innovate for future growth,” Minister Donohoe added.