New €500,000 Enterprise Ireland fund to support FinTech start-ups
The Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Mary Mitchell O’Connor TD, today (26 May 2016) launched a new €500,000 Enterprise Ireland Competitive Start Fund (CSF) to stimulate start-up activity in the FinTech sector. The fund, which is a part of the IFS2020 strategy, provides up to €50,000 in equity support by Enterprise Ireland for each successful applicant.
The new fund – the first of its type targeting the FinTech sector – is open to early stage companies providing technology driven solutions within the Financial Services sector, or to the FinTech/Financial Services sectors as an end market.
The FinTech CSF is open to companies in Payments, Banking, RegTech, Security, and InsurTech and FinTech solutions that leverage the following technologies: Blockchain, IoT, AI and Data Intelligence. The fund opens for applications on Wednesday, 1 June and closes at 3pm on Wednesday, 15 June.
The FinTech CSF is part of Enterprise Ireland’s strategy for increasing the number and quality of High Potential Start-Up Companies (HPSUs) that have the potential to employ more than 10 persons and achieve €1 million in export sales within three years.
Launching the fund Minister Mary Mitchell O’Connor said: “A key part of the Government’s Action Plan for Jobs is targeting sectors where we have established strengths, and supporting growth and expansion in those areas in order to create jobs. Ireland is recognised as a key hub for FinTech innovation and this new fund will make a real contribution to supporting more start-ups and ultimately more jobs in Ireland”.
Brett Meyers, CEO of CurrencyFair commented: “FinTech is one of the hottest sectors in terms of both innovation and growth. CurrencyFair, with the support of Enterprise Ireland, continues to evolve banking to be fairer and more transparent ultimately giving customers a better experience. This fund will go a long way in making sure more companies like CurrencyFair can emerge to continue to disrupt and improve financial services”.
Successful applicants will also receive membership to Dogpatch Labs located in the heart of the IFSC (in partnership with Ulster Bank) and access to the Ulster Bank Innovation Solutions team. In addition, there will be a number of Masterclasses provided by industry experts from the FinTech and Payments Association of Ireland (FPAI).
Leo McAdams, Divisional Manager ICT & International Services at Enterprise Ireland concluded: “A priority for Enterprise Ireland is to help Irish entrepreneurs and companies to start up. A key objective of the IFS2020 Strategy is to create more jobs. By introducing a specific start-up fund targeting the FinTech sector, Enterprise Ireland is leveraging our strong International Financial Services reputation and our world-class start-up ecosystem to allow ambitious entrepreneurs to start, scale and succeed – providing valuable jobs here into the future”.
