Enterprise Ireland Pre-Seed Start Fund (PSSF) with regional application support from the Irish BICs
About this good practice
One of the key ambitions of Enterprise Ireland(EI) - Ireland's Enterprise Development Agency, is to support innovative entrepreneurs and early-stage companies with high growth potential to meet their business development needs.
Through the Pre-Seed Start Fund instrument, these are supported to reach key technical & commercial milestones to attract future seed funding. Operating as an open call annually, the fund provides:
• €50k or €100k investment in the form of convertible loan note instrument
• Support from EI Development Advisor
• 10 mentoring sessions from panel of experts
• Access to EI Market Research Centre
The fund is open to entrepreneurs/early-stage companies in Manufacturing & Internationally Traded Services with the following prerequisite criteria:
• Ideally Minimum Viable Product (MVP) with demonstrable customer validation
• Validated customer proposition with market research conducted
• Clear execution plan, identifying key milestones to be achieved
• Evidence of innovation, international potential & employment capacity
• A team with experience, domain knowledge & balance of skills
To support regional uptake, the EU-accredited BICs in Ireland, in collaboration with EI, deliver support workshops online for those considering an application. Follow-up one-to-one support is provided with the application process including written application & video presentation tailored to individual circumstances, followed by interview preparation for shortlisted candidates.
Expert opinion
Resources needed
Regional BICs deliver a half day Workshop (online) per quarter. This requires a co-ordinator and speaker/presenter.
Tailored individual support (2-3 days) provided to 25/30 companies after each workshop aiming to secure PSSF.
Successful applicants (avg 70-80 per annum) are awarded €50-€100k by EI.
Evidence of success
Online workshops, coupled with tailored one-to-one support provided by the Irish BICs, has proven to be a very successful model that ensures high success at regional level.
WestBIC provides PSSF support in the West, North-West and Midlands region. Its success is evident by approx. 10 companies receiving PSSF of €100k each year in this region. Approx. 70 companies receive PSSF nationally.
Many of these companies go on to become Enterprise Ireland-supported High Potential Start-Up enterprises.
Potential for learning or transfer
There are two essential elements to the PSSF instrument, as follows:
• Nationally, Enterprise Ireland recognises the importance of supporting potential high-growth companies at the critical pre-seed stage. The PSSF instrument provides €50K - €100K investment to select companies that meet certain criteria e.g. innovative business, MVP-ready with high-growth potential & international focus.
• At regional level, the support provided by Irish BICs to foster and assist companies to successfully secure PSSF investment has proven critical to improving quality, ensure high uptake/success rates & to foster regional balance.
This ensures a pipeline of innovative businesses with high-growth potential can take critical steps to prove their business model & prepare for future investment. There is a high conversion rate from these well-prepared enterprises to become EI High Potential Start-Ups (T/O >€1m, with >10 employees in 3yrs) & successfully raise seed funding to scale their businesses.
Further information
Good practice owner
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