9% Rise In Irish Venture Capital Investment

There has been a 9% increase in investment in Irish companies under the Enterprise Ireland Seed and Venture Capital Scheme in 2013, according to Jobs Minister Richard Bruton.

€59 million was invested in 2013 in 94 Irish-based companies by Irish venture capital firms, it has been announced. This indicated an increase on the €54 million invested in 84 Irish companies in 2012 under the schemes.

"Venture capital funds provide critical funding, mentoring and access to networks to fast-growing companies and expanding established businesses. For these reasons, we established as part of the Action Plan for Jobs the new €700million Seed and Venture Capital Scheme 2013-2018, a significant achievement at a time of constrained budgets," Minister Bruton said.

"This will help support the next generation of Irish-based seed and venture funds and increase the availability of funds over the coming years to the fast-growing businesses that will create the jobs we need."

Julie Sinnamon, CEO Enterprise Ireland, said: "Enterprise Ireland’s priority is to support the creation of high potential start-ups and the expansion of scaling companies to support job creation and export growth. A dynamic and commercially driven venture capital market play a key role in this strategy and we look forward to continuing to work with the venture capital sector for the benefit of Irish industry."

(IT/CD)