Call for Cork businesses to join Innovation Exchange
The Innovation Exchange is to expand into the Cork region following an agreement by Skillnet Ireland and The Ludgate Hub in Skibereen. The Innovation Exchange is Ireland’s innovation marketplace connecting large companies facing digital transformation challenges with SMEs that can fast-track the solution.
As the newest regional channel partner of The Innovation Exchange, The Ludgate Hub has a reputation of being diverse, welcoming and accessible for start-ups and SMEs. Ludgate, through its strategic partnerships with corporates, academia and investors, helps businesses grow through resources and support every step of the way.
Paul Healy, chief executive, Skillnet Ireland said: “The Innovation Exchange plays an important role in forging connections between SMEs and large corporations, facilitating new ideas and supporting the creation of new business ventures. As part of a national expansion of the programme, we are delighted to introduce The Innovation Exchange to Cork, in partnership with the Ludgate Hub and Furthr. We invite ambitious SMEs and larger companies in the Cork region to join the programme and take full advantage of the many benefits it offers.”
The aim of The Innovation Exchange is to establish a nationwide footprint by onboarding up to 10 regional channel partners throughout 2023. Earlier this year, its announced a partnership with the Galway Technology Centre, which supports global trading companies in the ICT sector. In March, The Innovation Exchange partnered with Kerry-based RDI Hub to provide local SMEs with the opportunity to connect and collaborate with innovation seeking larger companies.
The expansion of The Innovation Exchange, which currently has in excess of 350 participants, will offer even more SMEs access to the programme’s benefits, including an instant sales pipeline, market intelligence and the capability to sell to large companies. Skillnet Ireland has committed €5 million to fund The Innovation Exchange which is designed to address the barriers that exist for scaling companies when selling to large companies and multinationals. The programme will support over 1,000 companies between 2022-2025.
Grainne O’Keeffe, CEO of The Ludgate Hub, said: “This is an exciting forward thinking digital transformation marketplace that brings scaling and enterprise-sized organisations together. It is very positive to see The Innovation Exchange leveraging the hub network and its extensive collaborative ecosystem as an economic asset in the rollout of this initiative. And Ludgate, as Ireland’s first rural digital innovation hub, is thrilled to embrace this opportunity to accelerate growth in the region.”
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