Seedcorn competition offers €280k to help budding businesses bloom

All-island competition puts out call for entrants

Trade

Pictured: Shane O'Hanlon, InterTradeIreland; and Jennifer McMahon, Seroba Life Sciences

Start-up and early stage firms seeking to grow their funding are being urged to enter InterTradeIreland’s Seedcorn Investor Readiness competition.

Seedcorn offers a total cash prize fund of €280,000, with €100,000 earmarked for the overall winner. Since its inception in 2003, the total awarded to innovative companies stands at €4.5 million.

As well as the chance to win a substantial cash prize, entrants will benefit from guidance, advice and feedback from business experts, investors and other entrepreneurs through a series of business planning workshops and mentorship support throughout the competition.

Shane O’Hanlon, funding for growth manager, InterTradeIreland, said: “For 20 years, InterTradeIreland has supported businesses across the island and many of our biggest success stories have sprung from the Seedcorn competition.

“The support Seedcorn has given to new start and early stage businesses goes beyond the €4.5 million cash funding. It includes the invaluable advice from industry experts and the wider investment community designed to help these young companies refine their business plans and improve their pitches to potential investors.”

Jennifer McMahon, principal, Seroba Life Sciences and former Seedcorn judging panel member, said: “The Seedcorn programme is an excellent all-Island initiative which helps more emerging entrepreneurs and exciting new innovators to succeed. While prize money is always of benefit to start-up and early stage companies when striving to reach the next value inflection point, access to the wider InterTradeIreland guidance and investor network is probably the biggest benefit to all finalists.”

Previous Seedcorn winners include Barracuda FX Dublin, Loci Orthopaedics Galway, Valitacell Dublin, ALR Innovations Limerick and Epona Biotech/Stablelab Sligo.

For further details visit http://intertradeireland.com/seedcorn.

Closing date for entries is Friday 31 May.

TechCentral Reporters

Read More: InterTradeIreland