On July 24, Feargal Ó Móráin, Director of Corporate and Investment Services at Enterprise Ireland, released the Enterprise Ireland Seed and Venture Capital report for 2008. In 2008, Enterprise Ireland partnership funds made 104 investments worth EUR34m. These investments are spread across all sectors, with a particularly strong focus on communications, life sciences, and software. Investments were made in both innovative start-up and expanding companies spread throughout the regions. This brings total investment made under all three Enterprise Ireland supported seed and venture capital programs to EUR459m at end-2008.
Launching the 2008 report, Feargal Ó Móráin said:
“Enterprise Ireland is committed to working with our investment partners in building a strong self-sustaining indigenous venture capital industry in Ireland. This sector is critical to securing finance and encouraging companies to set up, grow and develop. Over the past fifteen years the government, through Enterprise Ireland, has committed over EUR300m, as a limited partner, in the majority of seed and venture capital funds that have emerged in Ireland. The current Seed & Venture Capital Programme 2007-2012 involves State commitment of EUR175m in a range of funds. Today, these funds have a combined capital available for investment of almost EUR500m and are anticipated to have considerably more available upon the completion of ongoing negotiations. The investment pipeline for these funds remains strong, a very encouraging feature given the current difficult economic environment.”
Mr. Ó Móráin also welcomed the provision of an additional EUR48m for seed investment as part of the government’s bank recapitalization initiative. “New agreements between AIB and Enterprise Ireland and Bank of Ireland and Enterprise Ireland respectively will see the AIB Seed Fund increase to EUR53m from EUR30m and the creation of a new EUR25m Bank of Ireland Seed & Early Stage Equity Fund, marking a significant increase in the funding available for Irish companies. Enterprise Ireland continues to work closely with the venture capital sector, the banks and the European Investment Bank to secure finance for Irish enterprises,” he said.
Welcoming the report the Vice-Prime Minister and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment Mary Coughlan said: “Irish venture capital firms provide vital investment funding to Ireland’s early stage and developing companies, and are an essential element of the eco system for Irish businesses. They provide that critical risk capital that could otherwise be difficult to raise. I am also particularly pleased to welcome the establishment of the new and expanded seed funds in implementation of the government’s decision, as part of the bank recapitalization initiative, to increase the supply of seed capital to new Irish businesses.”
The report is available at the Enterprise Ireland website.
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