Leo Hamill. Image: Fennel Photography
Hamill has 20 years’ SME experience in the ICT sector and has worked for 17 years in the venture capital industry.
The Irish Venture Capital Association (IVCA) has elected Leo Hamill to be its new chair. He replaces Molten Ventures’ Nicola McClafferty, who has completed her term of office.
Hamill is managing partner of Investec Ventures Ireland. He has 20 years’ SME experience in the ICT sector and has worked for 17 years in the venture capital industry. He has been a director and council member of the IVCA since October 2019, serving as vice-chair since June 2021.
Hamill is also a non-executive director of firms such as Rainmaker Business Technologies, TerminalFour Solutions, Diona and Davra. He is a business studies graduate of Trinity College Dublin and holds an MBA from the Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School at University College Dublin.
‘Good Irish companies, especially in the tech sector, will always be able to raise funds’
– LEO HAMILL
The IVCA is the representative organisation for venture capital and private equity firms in Ireland.
According to an independent report from Dublin City University in 2020, Irish venture capital and private equity firms had invested €5bn in Irish SMEs since 2003
VC investment hasn’t slowed down since then. A recent VenturePulse survey from the IVCA found that VC investment into Irish tech start-ups and SMEs reached a record €1.3bn in 2021, marking a 44pc increase from the previous year.
However, a William Fry-commissioned report in May found that funding deals under €10m took a big hit in the first three months of 2022, despite an overall increase in VC funding.
Hamill said he remains optimistic about the prospects for Irish start-ups looking to raise funding, despite significant falls in the value of global tech stocks and mounting international uncertainties.
“Good Irish companies, especially in the tech sector, will always be able to raise funds,” Hamill said.
“A number of Irish venture capital managers have recently completed funding rounds themselves, while the Government’s timely €90m Irish Innovation Seed Fund should start to come on stream later in the year.”
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