Ireland has the potential to create a stable of unicorns – IVCA

Dublin, Wednesday, 17th July, 2024: Irish entrepreneurs have the talent and potential to create a stable of unicorns (privately owned start-ups valued at more than $1 billion) and global winners if the absence of scaling finance can be addressed.
This was stated by the Irish Venture Capital Association, when it welcomed the announcement1 by Peter Burke TD, Minister for Enterprise, Trade & Employment, that his department has established an implementation committee to immediately start work on recommendations to assist high potential start-ups access scaling finance.

IVCA
Fennell Photography 2024

Caption: Sarah-Jane Larkin, director general, Irish Venture Capital Association. Photo: Fennell Photography.
“Ireland has huge potential to create a stable of unicorns, and baby unicorns if the scaling problem can be tackled,” commented Sarah-Jane Larkin, director general, Irish Venture Capital Association.
“The Irish ecosystem for getting companies off the ground, including government and state bodies such as EI (Enterprise Ireland) and ISIF (Ireland Strategic Investment Fund), is largely working well. The big problem is that, because of a lack of local scaling finance, these innovative, tech based indigenous companies often fall into overseas ownership due to trade sales long before they have reached their potential.
“The challenge, recognised in the Minister’s announcement, is our over dependence on unpredictable international investors in taking these start-ups to the next level of growth.”
She pointed out that in the first quarter of 2024, international funding into Irish SMEs fell by 57% to €184m from €425m last year.
“While we are developing innovative, exciting, indigenous technology start-ups we must put in place mechanisms to source private capital to scale them up to global winners.”
She echoed the department’s report2 that lack of this vital scaling finance means that after funding high-risk seed and early-stage companies, Ireland will lose out on employment, tax revenues, the opportunity to create long-term economic value, and the positive spill overs of developing world class firms.
Ends
1 https://www.gov.ie/en/press-release/95009-minister-burke-publishes-paper-on-using-finance-as-a-catalyst-to-develop-a-scaling-ecosystem/
2 The use of finance as a catalyst to develop a scaling ecosystem – DETE (enterprise.gov.ie)
Press queries to:
Sarah-Jane Larkin, director general, IVCA, Email: sjlarkin@ivca.ie
Mob: 087 320 9209 or
Ronnie Simpson, Simpson Consulting, Email: ronnie@simpsonconsulting.ie
Mob: 086 855 9410
About the Irish Venture Capital Association (www.ivca.ie)
The Irish Venture Capital Association is the representative organisation for venture capital and private equity firms in Ireland.
An independent DCU report released in January 2020 found that Irish venture capital and private equity firms have invested €5bn in Irish SMEs since 2003 and, through syndication, have attracted in a further €3bn in funding from international firms.
This supported the state’s investment through its agencies’ Enterprise Ireland and the Irish Strategic Investment Fund and geared up investment through the Seed & Venture Capital Programme by almost 16 times.
The study found that employment numbers in venture and private equity backed firms increased by an average of 27% per annum since 2016, compared to an overall increase in employment in the economy of 3.3% per annum over the same time period.
Ronnie Simpson BBS, FPRII; Member, National Union of Journalists
Ronnie Simpson Consulting
(Formerly of Simpson Financial & Technology PR).
Business Registration No: 517518