Enterprise Ireland, an initiative of the Irish government, has issued a call for overseas applications from startup active in areas such as gaming, apps, mobile, software as a service (SaaS), cloud computing and fintech to scale their startups the European country and gain up to EUR50,000 (US$55,000) in funding.
Disrupt Africa reported last month on a similar initiative in France to tempt overseas startups to Paris, for which applications are now open, and the Irish government is now having a similar push, through Enterprise Ireland.
Applications for the initiative will open on August 26 and close on September 9, with successful startups set to be offered up to EUR50,000 in two tranches of funding for a 10 per cent stake in the business, as well as mentorship and travel costs.
“The purpose of the Competitive Start Fund is to accelerate the growth of start-up companies that have the capability to succeed in global markets. The fund is designed to enable those companies reach key commercial and technical milestones,” Enterprise Ireland said.
The scheme aims to help startups to evaluate overseas market opportunities, build a prototype, develop a market entry plan for exploiting international opportunities, secure partnership deals or strategic alliances, identify suitable channels to international markets, and secure third party investment.
Successful applicants will be required to register and base their headquarters in Ireland, with all intellectual property and assets residing in the Irish entity. The majority of the management team must undertake to be based in Ireland for at least one year post-investment.
“The overall equity investment will be towards the costs associated with developing the business plan and making progress on key technical and commercial milestones,” said Enterprise Ireland.
