View from the centre's location in Killorglin, Kerry. Image: RDI Hub
At a membership cost of €35 per month, SMEs and founders across Ireland will have access to mentorship from the likes of Rose O’Sullivan and Jamie Heaslip.
As the RDI Hub in Kerry celebrates its 4th anniversary, the innovation centre for start-ups and small tech companies is launching a virtual ecosystem that will expand its offerings to a larger pool of people across the island of Ireland.
In an announcement today (25 March), the RDI Hub said that the new Virtual Hub will give corporates, SMEs and start-up founders beyond the south-west region access to its mentorship, training, events and advice on available funding supports.
It will act as a curated resource library and offer one-to-one coaching sessions with a diverse panel of seasoned mentors including Hugh Reynolds (former Apple executive and founder of Havok and Swrve), Jamie Heaslip (strategic growth lead for Stripe in Ireland) and Rose O’Sullivan (strategic finance manager at Fexco).
Membership of the RDI Virtual Hub, which comes at a cost of €35 per month, gives access to the centre’s many initiatives, including STEM Passport for Inclusion, Digital Innovation for Blue Enterprises and Social Tourism (DIBEST), the annual John McCarthy AI summer school and NDRC start-up programmes.
“Over the past four years, the RDI Hub has created a thriving ecosystem for entrepreneurship and business growth in the south-west,” said CEO Liam Cronin.
“Our new RDI Virtual Hub will enable us to expand this innovative spirit worldwide, by bringing together a virtual community of mentors, entrepreneurs and innovators to share their insights and experience on a much larger scale.”
Backed by Fexco, Munster Technological University and Kerry County Council, the RDI Hub launched in January 2020 to drive design-led innovation, facilitate R&D and nurture entrepreneurs in the fintech sector.
“We have a diverse range of members, operating across a broad range of sectors including fintech, smart manufacturing, aqua-tech, green-tech, sustainability, AI, robotics and the metaverse, creating a rich pool of expertise that will benefit businesses hugely when it comes to optimising their operations,” Cronin added.
The launch comes less than a week after the RDI Hub announced its partnership with Microsoft to deliver a series of AI masterclasses to benefit businesses across the country, particularly those in rural areas.
Microsoft will run what it is calling Skill-Up-A-Thons at a selection of Connected Hubs in Kerry, Cavan, Galway, Kilkenny, Mayo and Tipperary in the coming weeks.
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