NDRC at ArcLabs seeking startups for €75,000 investment programme

Following the success of the first two NDRC at ArcLabs programmes, which ran during 2018 and 2019, as well as three other regional NDRC programmes in the West, the call is open for applications for the next cohort of entrepreneurs.

Entry will be through a competitive process designed to find and support those digital companies with the best potential for growth and expansion. Each successful applicant will receive €75,000 – of which €50,000 is a cash investment into their company and €25,000 is in programme service costs.

The accelerator programme is part of Enterprise Ireland’s overall strategy to increase the number and quality of startups that have the potential to employ more than 10 persons and achieve €1 million in export sales within three years.

Based in ArcLabs in Waterford Institute of Technology (WIT), this initiative aims to drive the growth of digital startups nationally. If you wish to apply, contact us (info@ndrc.ie) and we will be in touch or book a time to meet our investment team.

Both NDRC and ArcLabs are currently heeding health and safety advice from the Government, so remote consultation between applicants and our investor team will operate until it deemed safe to meet in person.

As we think beyond the current crisis, it is critically important that Ireland maintains a pipeline of new digital companies to participate in and drive the economic recovery. Undoubtedly, these are difficult times for all businesses but startups, with the inherent flexibility and capacity to pivot, have the capacity to plan for the new economic challenges ahead.

NDRC has always championed the contribution that these type of companies can make to the domestic economy. They will be ever more important in the months and years ahead. That is why maintaining and continuing the NDRC programmes, like that at Arclabs, is important.

The 12-week programme commences in September. For entrepreneurs and individuals interested in finding out more, a number of information events online will be hosted in the coming weeks. Keep an eye on www.ndrc.ie to find out more.

Companies which previously stood out on the NDRC at ArcLabs programme include LiveCosts, Property Bridges and Muira RegTech.

The investors and supporters of NDRC at ArcLabs, in addition to Enterprise Ireland, include Suir Valley Ventures, Bank of Ireland Seed and Early Stage Equity Fund, Bord Gáis Energy in partnership with Centrica Innovations, South East BIC, and Local Authorities of Carlow, Kilkenny, Waterford and Wexford, Local Enterprise Offices and Enterprise Centres.

Aisling O’Neill, Manager, ArcLabs Research and Innovation Centre, said: “We are living in unprecedented times. There have been many challenges presented by the COVID-19 emergency. However, along with challenge lies opportunity. It is in times of crisis that we see creativity and innovation thrive and the power within people to activate the ideas that may have been niggling at the back of their minds for some time.

We are so excited to meet this year’s applicants to our NDRC at ArcLabs programme. There were over 80 applications in 2019 and following the success of the programme, we’re sure there will be many more in 2020. Given our co-location with the Telecommunications, Software and Systems Group (TSSG), WIT’s internationally renowned ICT research group and Enterprise Ireland Technology Gateway, ArcLabs is the best place to launch and grow your digital technology business. The NDRC at ArcLabs programme offers participants the skills, knowledge and networks required to accelerate company growth. For more information on ArcLabs and to get in touch, see www.arclabs.ie.”

Brian Fives, Regional Development, Enterprise Ireland, said: “Through this ongoing COVID-19 situation, Enterprise Ireland is committed to the ongoing support of regional entrepreneurship. We want to help regionally-based Irish companies to achieve their global ambition by building scale and expanding reach in overseas markets. This partnership with NDRC at ArcLabs is a key pillar of our regional supports, and a fundamental programme for innovative, indigenous startups.

With two years of learnings to be gleaned from this programme in the South East to date, I look forward to seeing what the latest cohort of companies will bring to the programme as they take their first steps to becoming investor-ready and making their ideas a business reality.”

Ben Hurley, CEO of NDRC, said: “We’re excited to begin the call for our third investment programme in the South East. Building on the successful progression of NDRC at ArcLabs to date, we’re committed to finding and building promising new startups in the region for the benefit of the economy despite the contextual challenges posed by COVID-19. Given the ongoing uncertainty surrounding COVID-19 and the wider health and economic impacts of the pandemic, we’re approaching NDRC at ArcLabs with an open mind. Depending on Government advice, this programme may well be delivered remotely, something in which we already have positive and effective experience through our current Dublin-based national programme.

“The first time we delivered NDRC at ArcLabs was in 2018 and since then we have seen the likes of Property Bridges, LiveCosts.com, Miura RegTech and Stackolater deliver impressive progress and further development of their businesses. We’re keen to find more such ventures in the coming weeks.”