The closing date for the Enterprise Ireland Regional Competitive Start Fund is the 13th March and Local Enterprise Office clients outside of Dublin are being encouraged to apply to the €500,000 fund.
Enterprise Ireland’s Competitive Start Fund (CSF) for regional based start-ups is the second CSF call of the year and is open for applications from all start-ups based outside of Dublin. The €500,000 fund will provide up to €50,000 in equity funding for up to 10 successful applicants. The fund closes to applications at 3pm on Tuesday, 13 March.
The fund, which is provided by the Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation through Enterprise Ireland, is open to early stage companies in manufacturing & internationally traded services, including the following subsectors: Internet, Games, Apps, Mobile, SaaS, Cloud Computing, Enterprise Software, Lifesciences, Food, Cleantech and Industrial Products.
Sheelagh Daly, Chair of Network of Local Enterprise Offices is encouraging eligible new start-ups from outside of Dublin to apply before the fund closes. She said: “Investments of up to €50,000 are available so if you’re an early stage company based outside of Dublin with potential to grow internationally, this Competitive Start Fund could unlock new markets for your business.”
Joe Healy, Enterprise Ireland, commented: “Our focus for 2018 is on the quality start-ups that we engage with, both in Ireland and internationally. Our strategic objective is to scale more of these start-ups more quickly. These start-ups must have potential to scale and have a plan to credibly expand in international markets. We are also focusing on spin-outs from research which have higher than average success rates.
“In 2018 we will be putting a spotlight on companies in the MarineTech and DeepTech sectors which we see as strategically important sectors, to encourage and support new start-ups in these areas.”
For more information on the Enterprise Ireland Competitive Start Fund please see www.enterprise-ireland.com/csfregional and for details on how to apply then contact your Local Enterprise Office.
