Deadline extended for south east start-ups to apply for share of €1.5m funding

€15,000 financial support available for innovative business start-ups in the south east* through the New Frontiers Programme which re-commences in early September.

€1.5m in Enterprise Ireland funding has been secured for 55 early-stage entrepreneurs over the next five years in Waterford through the New Frontiers programme at Waterford Institute of Technology.

Based at the ArcLabs innovation hub in Waterford the programme is now taking applications until 31 August 2016 from entrepreneurs and innovative business start-ups.

New Frontiers Programme Manager at Waterford Institute of Technology, Eugene Crehan explains who the programme is for. “The New Frontiers programme is designed to help people who have already passed the idea stage, and are serious about ‘concept development’. The time commitment for Phase 1 is one evening per week, starting from Tuesday, 6 September 2016. The application process is online at www.wit.ie/newfrontiers so people can apply easily.”

In recent years the programme has appealed to those in the medical devices and broad technology areas.

“Over the next five years we hope to support another 250 entrepreneurs on Phase 1 of our programme with about 20% making it through to the second phase and access to EI funding every year. Those who get onto Phase 2 are on the programme two days per week for six months and get funding of €15,000 each. The programme is run by the WIT School of Business from ArcLabs, the innovation hub based at WIT’s West Campus, Carriganore.”

One of the trends programme organisers have noticed is that it’s less common to see applicants who are pursuing a new future following redundancy. “People now have a choice of quality jobs open to them. Therefore, those applying to New Frontiers tend to be people who have significant domain experience and are considering leaving a job to pursue a business idea.”

Crehan adds that the programme may be of interest in future years to people who would like to move back to the south east from Dublin or overseas, or to people who are attracted to the lifestyle the south east has to offer. “People can get in touch now with the view to applying for the Phase 1 in 2017, giving them plenty of time to plan a move from Dublin, for example.”

Phase 1 of the New Frontiers Programme will commence in Waterford at ArcLabs, the innovation hub based on WIT’s West Campus in September 2016 on a part-time basis, with Phase 2 commencing in December 2016. For more information and to make an application see www.wit.ie/newfrontiers