A new €26 million fund for investing in start-up and early stage companies has been announced by Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Mary Coughlan.
The Bank of Ireland Seed and Early Stage Equity fund will invest in export-oriented high potential firms that operate in the technology, food and financial services sectors, in addition to supporting patent and patent pending projects within Irish universities.
The fund will target investments in the range of €100,000 and €500,000.
The new fund, which will be managed by Kernal Capital, comprises of a €17 million investment by Bank of Ireland, along with funding of €8 million from Enterprise Ireland and € 1million by the University of Limerick Foundation. It will be managed by Kernel Capital.
Making the announcement this morning, the Tánaiste said the new fund would make a significant increase in the supply of seed capital available for new Irish businesses and campus spin-out companies.
“A healthy seed and venture capital environment is absolutely essential for stimulating the growth of new and innovative businesses that have real potential to grow and expand into export markets,” she said.
This new institutive is the eighth new fund supported by the Government through Enterprise Ireland’s Seed and Venture Capital Programme 2007-2012.
