Enterprise Ireland has unveiled its first fintech startup fund
A €500,000 pool will be available to firms across the sector.
ENTERPRISE IRELAND HAS unveiled a €500,000 fintech startup fund, its first targeted at the fast-growing sector.
The ‘competitive start fund’ will provide up to €50,000 in equity backing for companies with the potential to sell their products into global markets.
It will be open to firms across industries including payments, banking, security, regulation and insurance, and involving technologies like blockchain and artificial intelligence.
Applications for the new fund will be open for two weeks starting 1 June and it follows the launch of similar Enterprise Ireland pools aimed at female entrepreneurs, startups based outside Dublin and overseas founders.
Successful applicants will get membership to coworking office Dogpatch Labs, which neighbours the IFSC in Dublin’s northern docklands.
Enterprise Ireland’s Leo McAdams said the organisation was leveraging the country’s strong reputation for financial services and its “world-class startup ecosystem”.
Recent figures from US analysts CB Insights, in collaboration with KPMG, showed the amount of venture capital being pumped into fintech startups worldwide was booming.
However only a fraction, at about 7%, is flowing to Europe, with almost half of the total for the continent going to the UK. Irish fintech companies have also been claiming a disproportionate share of investment at more than €37 million for the most recent three-month period.
Meanwhile, Deloitte this week announced it was setting up its European blockchain lab in Dublin to develop prototypes using the technology for large financial firms.
Enterprise Ireland is also expected to unveil a new, €20 million fund for angel investors in the coming weeks as part of a European initiate to support startups.
