05/11/2013

€125m Fund For Ireland's SMEs

A new investment fund, worth €125m, has been unveiled.

The fund is aimed at Ireland's small and medium-sized companies (SMEs) that need capital for expansion. It will be financed by a mix of both public and private sources, and will be managed by MML Growth Capital.

Enterprise Ireland has made a €25m commitment to the project, under the Government's Development Capital Scheme, with the rest of the funds coming from Allied Irish Banks, the European Investment Fund, GoldPoint Partners, and two United States subsidiaries of the Cigna Corporation.

Jobs Minister Richard Bruton, welcomed the news, saying: "The Development Capital Scheme is aimed at providing funding for the mid-sized, export-oriented businesses that are so crucial to our growth – particularly manufacturing and technology companies in traditional sectors including engineering, food, life sciences, services and electronics.

"Ireland has a strong tradition of successful home-grown businesses of this type, and increasing the availability of risk capital for them is critical in ensuring that they can scale sufficiently to compete in international markets, growing exports and jobs."

The fund will be aimed at already existing companies that are seeking to expand, and fund managers say they will assist with business expertise as well as capital.

(JP/IT)

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