Enterprise Ireland launches €750,000 Competitive Start Fund for Fintech and Deep Tech start-ups

Enterprise Ireland has launch a new €750,000 Competitive Start Fund for Fintech and Deep Tech start-up companies that have the capacity to succeed in global markets. The fund is designed to enable recipient companies working in areas including fintech, proptech, artificial intelligence, machine learning, augmented and virtual reality, the internet of things, blockchain and cloud, to reach key technical and commercial milestones. The new fund will be launched by Minister for Financial Services and Insurance, Michael D’Arcy TD at Enterprise Ireland’s ‘Future of Fintech’ event this morning.

Coinciding with MoneyConf, the event will bring an international focus to Ireland’s fintech sector, with over 100 influential international buyers meeting over 40 leading Enterprise Ireland fintech companies who are changing the future of fintech. Enterprise Ireland clients presenting at the event include Know Your Customer, Aid:Tech, Cambrist, Governor Software, Extreme Push and Touch Tech, amongst others. The ‘Future of Fintech’ event will cover a number of themes including access to capital, innovation and talent, with guest speakers including; Don O’Leary, Head of Stripe Ireland and Brian Norton, founder and CEO of Supply Finance.

Launching Enterprise Ireland’s Competitive Start Fund for Fintech and Deeptech, Minister of State for Financial Services, Michael D’Arcy T.D. said: “With Ireland being the fourth largest exporter of financial services in the world, developing and supporting the Fintech sector is a national priority. As the home to one of the most important financial services centres in the EU and one of the world’s largest concentrations of technology companies, Ireland combines the technical and financial expertise that global fintech buyers seek. The new competitive start fund is a key action of the Department of Finance’s IFS 2020 Action Plan for 2018 and will provide a new funding stream, critical for early stage start-up funding for fintech and deeptech companies.”

Speaking at the event today, Enda McDonnell, Head of Fintech for Enterprise Ireland said: “The staging of MoneyConf in Ireland is a huge bonus for Ireland’s fintech sector, and one which Enterprise Ireland is utilising to shine a spotlight on the strengths of the sector to the international financial world. Ireland’s unique ecosystem has led to the development of a world-class fintech sector and as one of the largest investors by deal count in fintech startups, investing in 23 last year alone, Enterprise Ireland is supporting the international growth of Irish global fintech leaders. In 2016, Enterprise Ireland fintech companies generated €1bn in revenue. The launch of Enterprise Ireland’s new competitive start fund for fintech and deeptech companies, paves the way for the next wave of companies emerging from what is a very dynamic start-up sector in Ireland.”

At the event for international guests, Enterprise Ireland will also launch a white paper on Regtech, reflecting the position that Irish Regtech companies have established a world-class reputation for helping financial services customers to deal with the increasingly complex and rapidly evolving regulation. The Regtech white paper will be promoted internationally as part of Enterprise Ireland’s international Irish Advantage campaign which promotes the strengths of Irish companies to international customers. The Regtech White Paper can be downloaded here irishadvantage.com/regtech

Enterprise Ireland’s ‘Future of Fintech’ event coincided with MoneyConf, which is taking place in Dublin 11th June – 13th June 2018. Organised by the team behind the world’s largest tech conference Web Summit, MoneyConf will see the world’s leading bitcoin, cryptocurrency and fintech experts gather.

Applications for the new competitive start fund will open on 19th June and will close for entries on 3rd July. For further information on the fund, go to www.enterprise-ireland.com/FinTech

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