Ireland’s Digital Champion Lord David Puttnam was on hand yesterday for the official opening of the Versari Hub.
Located on Dublin’s Mount Street Lower, the 6,000 square foot facility was established by educational technology experts and entrepreneurs Alan Maguire and Jonny Parkes.
“Unlike Accelerator-type initiatives, the Versari Hub model is open-ended, providing high performance support for start-ups in the context of real-life business execution. I care passionately about technology, education and entrepreneurship and this new Hub provides a ground-breaking solution that supports and drives all three,” Lord Puttnam said.
Companies operating at the Hub have already raised over €8 million in capital, employ over 100 people and are actively recruiting.
Expenditure on learning technologies is projected to grow at 23% per annum leading to a global market worth $250 billionn 2017 across all education and corporate sectors.
Several businesses are already located in The Hub including Blikbook, Empower The User and Adaptemy.
Also speaking at the launch, Versari co-founder Alan Maguire said: “There are huge inefficiencies when multiple start-ups get distracted doing the same non-core things independently. Versari brings the power of the collective together to provide a community and a solution that these businesses could not realise on their own.”
The Hub’s strategic partners include Leaf Investments, an early stage investor in learning technology businesses, which is backed by Folens Publishers.
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