Enterprise Ireland shows the love at Start-Ups Showcase 14 February 2019

Enterprise Ireland’s Start-Up Showcase 2019

By Billy Linehan

It was packed and standing room only at Enterprise Ireland’s Start-Up Showcase 2019 event. Close to 700 start-ups, investors, EI staff and other guests attended the occasion in Croke Park on Valentine’s Day.

132 Start-Ups supported in 2018

Enterprise Ireland, the Irish state agency responsible for the development and growth of Irish companies in global markets, invested €23 million in Irish start-ups in 2018, and supported a total of 132 start-up companies.
Investment was provided in the form of equity through Competitive Start Funds (CSFs) and High Potential Start-Up (HPSUs) funding programmes by Enterprise Ireland.

Start-ups supported by Enterprise Ireland in 2018 include:

– 82 High Potential Start-Ups – start-up businesses with the potential to create 10 jobs and €1million in sales within three to four years of starting up
– 50 Competitive Start Funds (CSFs) – critical early stage funding into new businesses to accelerate growth
– 28 new female-led HPSUs
– 15 new Fintech HPSUs, and a further five Fintech start-ups were supported under a dedicated CSF fund
– 15 spin-out companies from higher education institutions
– 26 additional HPSUs which received follow-on investment funding as their businesses scaled

In terms of technology, 18pc of the class of 2018 were engaged in Fintech, 17pc in life sciences, 18pc in industrial/manufacturing and 5pc in food tech.

Opening the start-up showcase event, Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation, Heather Humphreys TD congratulated “all the entrepreneurs here who have taken the brave step to start their own business. All of the start-ups involved today are showcasing best-in-class in innovation and will go on to become part of the growing number of internationally trading Irish companies that each year are contributing to an increase in Irish exports.”

Joe Healy, Manager, of the high potential start-up division (HPSU Division), said “Enterprise Ireland works and supports the brightest and best start-ups with the ambition to take their business global. A huge amount of supports exist within the start-up eco-system and we continue to work with our partners to help early stage companies develop and succeed.” He commented that entrepreneurs were among “the real heroes of the Irish economy and deserve recognition and attention.”
For 2019 he detailed the key focus is on more female founders and companies of scale, and a focus on scaling of the regions is a key element of the strategy.

Entrepreneurs’ tax relief scheme

Unusually, for a civil service executive, Joe Healy made further comments on the need for tax reform for entrepreneurs. “The taxation environment is critically important for starting and scaling companies. It is a key factor in the overall competitiveness in Ireland.’
“There are still challenges around retaining and attracting talent, and we need to ensure that the tax system supports and encourages risk-takers. We have 132 of our brightest and best in this room, and an important role is to be an advocate for a tax regime that is needed.
Healy continued: “There is a need for an entrepreneurs’ relief scheme to reflect the risks of setting up a business, and a share options scheme to reward shares.”

A well organised and busy event, the one criticism I heard an attendee make was that as a Start-Up Showcase, they had expected to be able to meet the start-ups present on individual stands. She was surprised that the only stands were for investors and public funded support agencies, “I had hoped to meet more start-ups”, she added, “brilliant inspiring morning all the same”.

Start-Up Showcase Directory 2019 available to download here.

Enterprise Ireland is the national enterprise agency of Ireland, and offers a comprehensive package of supports for all stages of a start-up’s growth, check out the website to find out more.

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