A leading entrepreneur involved in Ireland's first rural digital hub has welcomed the decision by a new Irish IT company to move its operations from Dublin to West Cork with the aim of employing 10 people within three years.
Glen Dimplex chairman and chief executive Sean O'Driscoll said the decision by IT firm Digedu to move its operations to the Ludgate Digital Hub in Skibbereen augured well for the West Cork operation, which offers 1 gigabyte connectivity through SIRO's fibre optic broadband.
The move comes on foot of a decision by the Ludgate Digital Hub to award Digedu, which provides online courses to teach digital skills, a grant of €45,000 from its Seed Capital Fund of €450,000, designed to help start-ups and scale up their business.
Mr O’Driscoll said Digedu is the type of company the Ludgate Digital Hub hopes to attract to Skibbereen and the Ludgate board was immediately impressed by founder Bryan Hurley’ s drive and energy to develop a global educational platform.
“This ambition, coupled with the business’s potential for scale, gives us the confidence that Digedu can bring high value, sustainable jobs to Skibbereen - a key objective of the Ludgate Digital Hub initiative,” said Mr O’Driscoll as he congratulated the fledgling company.
Mr Hurley, a native of Waterford resident in Dublin, said the substantial investment by Ludgate Digital Hub in Digedu at this early stage provided the company with the platform to develop at a much quicker and more efficient pace.
“Skibbereen’s Ludgate Digital Hub provides us with everything we need, from high speed connectivity to mentorship, in an exciting start-up environment - and is a unique opportunity for a small tech company to participate in a truly unique and inspiring initiative.”
National Digital Week
The news that Digedu is to move to the Ludgate Digital Hub was made during National Digital Week, which began on Thursday and continues until Saturday at the Ludgate Ditigal Hub, and which aims to develop entrepreneurship by making digital technology accessible for all.
Mr O'Driscoll said with seed funding of €450,000 available through the Ludgate Seed Capital Fund, entrepreneurs are invited to submit an application at ludgate.ie/seed-funding/ and have a chance of meeting the investment team during National Digital Week.
