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New €175million Government Seed and Venture Capital Scheme

Frank Ryan, CEO of Enterprise Ireland, Minister Bruton, and Swrve COO Siofra Flood at the launch today

Frank Ryan, CEO of Enterprise Ireland, Minister Bruton, and Swrve COO Siofra Flood at the launch today

Jobs Minister Richard Bruton today launched a new €175million Seed and Venture Capital Scheme 2013-2018 aimed at providing additional funding for high-growth Irish companies with the potential to generate large amounts of additional export sales and grow jobs.

The Minister today issued the first call for Expressions of Interest from venture capital funds seeking investment, and advertisements will appear in newspapers from this weekend. Minister Bruton is targeting an additional €525million in funding from the private sector, which will mean a total of €700million available for investment over the lifetime of the Scheme. It is expected that the average initial venture investment in a company made by the funds targeted under this call could be of the order of €2million.

Under the Scheme, the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, through Enterprise Ireland, will make funding available for investment in private seed and venture capital funds. These funds, in turn, will invest in high-growth innovative Irish companies in fast-growing sectors including ICT, life sciences, high-tech manufacturing and the green economy.

This first call for expressions of interest will see Enterprise Ireland committing up to €100m to venture capital funds targeting investment in the wider ICT and life sciences sectors. It is expected that over the lifetime of the scheme it will benefit hundreds of Irish companies, generate tens of millions of euros in additional export sales and create thousands of jobs.

Making the announcement, Minister Bruton said:

I am determined to ensure that we support the creation of a powerful engine of Irish enterprise that can sustain and create the levels of employment we need. A key part of the Government’s plans to support Irish businesses is to provide access to credit for a range of different types of businesses, from micro-enterprises employing fewer than 10 people up to mid-sized and large engineering companies in need of development capital.

Today I am very happy to launch the new Seed and Venture Capital Scheme which will run over the next six years and make investments in hundreds of high-growth, innovative Irish companies in sectors which we have targeted through the Action Plan for Jobs including high-tech manufacturing and ICT. These are the companies that could develop into the next major success story for the Irish economy. International experience from Silicon Valley and elsewhere shows venture capital can play a key part in ensuring access to mentoring and networks as well as the funding that supports the growth of these companies.

Frank Ryan, Chief Executive, Enterprise Ireland, commented:

The world of Venture Capital investing is changing and we are particularly interested in receiving Expressions of Interest that reflect current thinking in the market. Proposals are sought that will deliver ‘Smart Capital’ to investees as the provision of advice, support, and access to networks in addition to any capital invested is vital to the development of our companies to ensure that they can continue to grow and create jobs in Ireland.

Read the full press release

here

.