Gerry Prizeman, head of enterprise development at Bank of Ireland; Bill Liao, lead mentor and European venture partner at SOSventures; and David Merriman, regional manager, south-west, at Bank of Ireland
Eight start-ups have been selected from a list of 150 to take part in the 12-week Bank of Ireland accelerator programme in Cork.
The selected companies are involved in a range of sectors, from homecare, HR/recruitment, fashion, food, photo sharing, workforce services to brainwave technology.
The successful start-ups are Rezoomo, CareZapp, FuelBox, CLOSR, SBaam, GF Kitchen, Over-C and Cortechs.
“The eight businesses selected are indicative of a positive, competitive and healthy start-up landscape in Ireland, which the bank is totally committed to encouraging and supporting,” said Bank of Ireland’s head of enterprise development Gerry Prizeman.
“Each of the companies demonstrated incredible commitment and passion to succeed and we look forward to encouraging, enhancing and accelerating their development over the period of the programme.”
The eight selected start-ups will be based at the programmes’ offices in Penrose Wharf in the centre of Cork City for the 12 weeks and will have access to a leading network of coaches, mentors and highly successful entrepreneurs.
Seed funding
Each company will receive a seed funding contribution, as well as the use of the Bank of Ireland accelerator programme office and all its resources.
The programme will culminate in an investor day in early December 2014, when the companies involved will present their ‘pitch’ to potential investors in an effort to attract investment funds to facilitate their next phase of growth.
“The reason for and objective of this programme is simple – we want to create a dynamic environment which, when mixed with experienced mentors, knowledge, support and connections, will facilitate the accelerated development of these companies,” said lead mentor and European venture partner at SOSventures Bill Liao.
“This programme ultimately aims to turn their ideas into investable and viable businesses going forward as they develop the skills to scale their business, truly test their proposition and develop a market strategy as to the best route to market to build sustainable revenues.”
Disclaimer – SOSventures is also an investor in Siliconrepublic.com
