The 2016 winner, Vincent Forde, a student from CIT, beat off stiff competition with his project ‘Gasgon Medical’, which aims to deliver unique and innovative medical devices to improve patient safety and support medical professionals during common procedures. The company was founded when doctors from Cork University Hospital highlighted the valuable staff time that was being wasted while setting up and monitoring IV procedures.
Enterprise Ireland and the European Investment Fund have signed an agreement to launch the €20m European Angels Fund Ireland. The fund will be aimed at Irish-based internationally trading SMEs with investments ranging from EUR 250K to EUR 4m over 10 years.
There is ample room for innovative companies to break into the French market which is the world's fifth largest economy and the third most important destination for Irish exports.
The FinTech Competitive Start Fund aims to support early stage start-ups providing technology driven solutions within the Financial Services sector or to the FinTech/Financial Services sectors as an end market. Learn more here.
Applied Concepts founder Mark Clendennen, saw a gap in the abrasive blasting market while working for Enterprise Ireland in assisting Irish companies to develop exports to the UK. Winning this award provides Applied Concepts with €10,000 in prize money and new opportunities to develop sales internationally.
Nine start-ups based at the LIT Hartnett Enterprise Acceleration Centre have collectively raised €2m in funding to date with a potential value of €20m to the Irish economy. Gillian Barry, LIT Enterprise Development manager, said “Entrepreneurship is key to the long-term growth and sustainability of the Irish economy.”
Hiri has created an email app that is aimed at saving businesses time by separating emails from those that are essential and need action, and those that are “nice to know”, trying to eliminate the distraction of email and improve productivity.
A showjumping horse has been first to benefit from a new Irish-developed biomaterial that can repair damaged knee cartilage. Professor Fergal O’Brien, Head of the ChondroColl research team, said, “Our hope for the future is this technology will benefit human patients and through our spinout company SurgaColl Technologies."
MyMoodandMe is an online service set up by a team of healthcare professionals and is designed to improve mental and physical health. The company is primarily targeting two areas: the corporate sector and pharmacies with online stores.
The Enterprise Ireland Student Entrepreneur Awards are part of a major drive aimed at encouraging students to start their own businesses; helping them turn their ideas into a commercial reality. This year celebrates the 35th year of these prestigious awards. Find out more here: www.studententrepreneurawards.com
