Enterprise Ireland creates €500,000 fund for fintech startups

Enterprise Ireland, an Irish state economic development agency focused on helping Irish-owned business deliver new export sales, has announced a new fund — Enterprise Ireland Competitive Start Fund (CSF) — worth €500,000 (approximately $558625) to promote startup activity in the fintech sector. The fund will provide up to €50,000 (approximately $55845) in equity support to each successful applicant. They will also receive membership to Dogpatch Labs — a co-working space for technology startups — located in the heart of the IFSC (International Financial Services Centre) in partnership with Ulster Bank) and access to the Ulster Bank Innovation Solutions team. In addition, there will be mentoring support provided by industry experts from the FinTech and Payments Association of Ireland (FPAI). The fund opens for applications on June 1, and closes on June 15. Launching the fund, Mary Mitchell O’Connor TD, Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Ireland, said:

“A key part of the government’s action plan for jobs is targeting sectors where we have established strengths, and supporting growth and expansion in those areas in order to create jobs. Ireland is recognized as a key hub for fintech innovation and this new fund will make a real contribution to supporting more start-ups and ultimately more jobs in Ireland.”

Who are eligible?

The fund is open to early stage companies providing technology driven solutions within the financial services sector, or to the fintech/financial services sectors as an end market, which includes companies in Payments, Banking, RegTech, Security, and InsurTech and fintech solutions like Blockchain, IoT, AI and Data Intelligence. The fund is part of Ireland’s IFS2020 (A Strategy for Ireland’s International Financial Services sector 2015-2020) strategy. The FinTech CSF is part of Enterprise Ireland’s strategy for increasing the number and quality of High Potential Startup Companies (HPSUs) that have the potential to employ more than 10 persons and achieve €1 million (approximately $1.12 million) in export sales within three years.