Small Business

Following an intense competition, 15 high-potential digital start-ups have been identified from a field of almost 100 applicants for the NDRC Launchpad acceleration programme, NDRC Launchpad will culminate in a year-end Liftoff competition for a follow-on investment sourced from venture capitalists and private investors.

Closing date for Entrepreneur of the Year entries coming upFrank O’Keeffe, Partner in Charge of the EoY Programme pictured with sponsors Liam Kavanagh, Irish Times, Terri O’Donnell, Invest NI and Tom Hayes, Enterprise Ireland The closing date for nominations for the 2013 Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year is this coming Sunday, 31 March. Frank O’Keeffe, Ernst & Young’s partner-in-charge of the programme, said that this year it wanted entrepreneurs from across the island of Ireland to “truly test their horizons”. “Even in these most challenging times, entrepreneurs are constantly looking for opportunities to grow through innovation and technology, and it is their unparalleled vision and capacity to adapt to the…

A best practice guide designed to address the issues that inhibit SME procurement from the public sector was launched by Minister of State Brian Hayes TD at an event in the Dublin Chamber of Commerce today. In Ireland and the UK alone, the public sector procures about €190bn in goods and services every year. But although SMEs account for 99pc of total companies, they deliver less than half of the requirements of contracting authorities “Research has shown that, given the right conditions and assistance, SMEs can become more effective in winning and retaining supply contracts to Government and other authorities,” said Gina Quin, Dublin Chamber chief executive . “This is a ‘win win’ for all; SMEs…

European Investment Bank to provide €200m for Irish SMEs with AIB The European Investment Bank (EIB) has agreed to work with AIB in providing €200m for investment by small and medium companies across Ireland. This represents the latest EIB support for SMEs in Ireland since an earlier lending programme intermediated by AIB in 2011. The SME initiative, the largest ever engagement by the EIB to support Irish small business, was signed at AIB headquarters in Dublin, today by AIB chief executive David Duffy and EIB president Werner Hoyer. The Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation Richard Bruton TD also participated. “Today’s announcement that the EIB along with AIB will provide an additional…

Bitbuzz signs partnership deal with ApplegreenDes Kenny, business development manager, Bitbuzz and Adrian Grimes, Head of Food & MSA Operations, Applegreen Irish Wi-Fi provider Bitbuzz has signed a deal to provide complimentary Wi-Fi access to the customers of forecourt retailer Applegreen. The deal means Bitbuzz Wi-Fi is now available at all six Applegreen motorway service stations, which are located at the M4 Enfield East and West, M1 Lusk North and South and M1 Castlebellingham North and South. Shane Deasy, managing director, Bitbuzz , said the initial uptake from both smartphone and laptop users at all six locations has been stronger than expected. “This new deal fits in well with our 2012 goal of providing superior…

Irish surface technology company Enbio has secured a €500,000 contract with the European Space Agency (ESA). The contract will enable the company to optimise a proprietary surface treatment for use as a ‘sunscreen’ to better protect satellites as they travel in space. The contract will also allow Enbio to establish its first manufacturing facility at its headquarters at NovaUCD. The contract was secured with support from Enterprise Ireland, the co-ordinating body for ESA in Ireland. In its new manufacturing facility Enbio will use its patented technology platform, CoBlast, to produce unique ‘black’ surfaces, which it will then deploy on critical internal and external surfaces of satellites. Called ‘SolarBlack(s)’, these surfaces…

UrParts.com aims to change the way spare parts are sourcedSonya and Simon Fitzpatrick, co-founders of UrParts.com Irish brother and sister Sonya and Simon Fitzpatrick have started an online business called UrParts.com , which aims to revolutionise the spare parts industry for construction, agricultural and commercial truck industries. According to Sonya Fitzpatrick, what makes UrParts.com unique is that a buyer submits one enquiry which will be received by multiple suppliers and is completely free. “Unlike other spare part sites that make buyers contact many suppliers separately, with UrParts.com the buyer does the work once and then sits back and waits for suppliers to respond directly to them by email or phone,” she said. The Fitzpatricks came…

NDRC Inventorium and IIA initiative to accelerate 20 SMEs into online trading NDRC’s Inventorium programme and the Irish Internet Association (IIA) are to engage directly for free with 20 small Irish businesses to transform them into online retailers with new export and jobs potential over five weeks. Applications for the new Clicktailing programme are now being invited through www.clicktailing.com. Clicktailing is an intensive retail accelerator scheme, which will run in five-week bursts. It brings together online retailing experts to provide hands-on support for participating businesses with web design services, payments systems, product photography, logistics advice and marketing skills, at no cost to the participants. The Inventorium and IIA partnership will…

Tony Staunton of Propertygate, Kevin Ryan of Pura Light and Tim Schmidt of Simply Connected are to compete for the title of ‘Best investment proposal 2014’ and a €10,000 prize at the Docklands Innovation Park Enterprise Awards. All participants on the Enterprise Ireland-funded Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT) Hothouse New Frontiers programme (past or present), the finalists will pitch their investment proposals and be questioned by a panel of judges on their business plans on 6 March. Founded in 2012 and headquartered in Dublin, Propertygate is designed for large-scale asset managers who require a single platform to provide instant transparency of their portfolio. In July 2013, the company won the…