New €30m AIB Seed Capital Fund to invest in Irish start-ups

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The €30m fund is the first to be established under Enterprise Ireland’s €175m Seed and Venture Capital Scheme for 2007-2012, which was announced in May 2006.  AIB and Enterprise Ireland are equal partners in the fund, with each investing €15m. The average initial investment made by the fund will be around €250,000 but smaller investments of c€100,000 will also be considered.  The Fund has an economic life of seven years and it is expected to make 50 to 60 investments. The investment strategy will be focused on high potential start ups in knowledge intensive sectors.The Minister said the new fund was specifically for Irish companies in the early stages of development. It will be managed by the Dublin Business Innovation Centre and Enterprise Equity. Frank Ryan, Enterprise Ireland Chief Executive Officer said:“the fund will be a vital contributor to the development of a commercially viable and sustainable Seed and Venture Capital industry in Ireland.”
Donal Forde, AIB Bank managing director, said the initiative was aligned to AIB’s SME development strategy. “Its overarching objective is to support entrepreneurship and provide risk capital to help develop competitive internationally oriented businesses in Ireland.”
www.aibseedcapitalfund.ie

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