Enterprise Ireland
Annual Report and Accounts 2006
Annual Report and Accounts 2006
Enterprise Ireland invested €175 million in a new round of venture capital funding in 2006, which will leverage an estimated further €1 billion for investment in start-up, early stage and development stage businesses.
The new Seed and Venture Capital Fund Scheme committed the largest ever investment by the State in venture capital, which will in turn leverage the largest matching investment from the private sector.
The major injection of liquidity is designed to further enable and develop the venture capital industry in Ireland.
It will support entrepreneurship and provide risk capital to assist small to medium sized enterprises (SMEs) in gaining access to finance.
Lack of early stage finance consistently emerges as a key challenge for innovative start-up firms.
The €175 million investment will be a vital contributor to the development of a more robust, commercially viable and sustainable seed and venture capital industry in Ireland.
The new funds will greatly improve access to finance for SMEs and for the commercialisation of research.
They will also encourage and leverage private sector investment in sectors that are difficult to finance, and will leverage private sector and institutional investment into the Irish venture capital industry.
The Scheme is central to Enterprise Ireland fulfilling its strategy of supporting and contributing to the growth of entrepreneurship and developing and expanding high potential start-ups.
The level of high potential start-up companies securing venture capital investment is an important indicator of future growth and a pointer to the potential success of early stage companies supported by Enterprise Ireland.
