Chartered accountant Johnny Harte looks at some little pockets of funding available to businesses and startups in Ireland.
How do you plan to fund your business? From experience, funding rarely comes from just one source, and over the course of several years, many businesses will go through various levels of funding. Listed below are some of the options you may not be aware of but should be considering.
Local Enterprise Offices (LEO)
LEOs are a great place to start and have a variety of financial supports available through the 31 offices across the country. Everything from feasibility grants to helping you research market demand and sustainability of your potential product or service (up to €20,000), through to priming grants and business expansion grants. The only issue with the LEO grants is that the grants only cover approximately 50% of the costs which can be a challenge for many early-stage businesses.
Microfinance Ireland
Microfinance Ireland is a not-for-profit lender established by the government to provide additional lending to startups and SMEs with loans ranging from €2,000 up to €25,000 that can be used for working capital, marketing costs and to fund the set-up of business, the purchase of stock, equipment, machinery and business vehicles.
“Some of the hottest startups in Ireland today started in accelerator programmes.”
Accelerator programmes and incubators
Accelerator programmes and incubators offer entrepreneurs the time and space to explore their idea, challenge their assumptions and surround themselves with like-minded people. There are some exceptional accelerator programmes in Ireland these days, some of which are ranked among the best in the world and there are at least 20 programmes running throughout Ireland. Two worth noting are the NDRC LaunchPad (which invests up to €20,000 in digital companies for an equity stake and now have programmes in Dublin, Galway and Waterford) and YieldLab (€100,000 investment into early-stage agrifood

Bank of Ireland will support the development of a new undergraduate certificate in innovation and entrepreneurship at Trinity.

Trinity College Dublin and Bank of Ireland have created a new partnership at the Trinity Innovation and Entrepreneurship Hub.
Bank of Ireland will now support the development of a new undergraduate certificate in innovation and entrepreneurship.
Furthermore, the existing programmes such as LaunchBox, the Trinity student business incubator, will be expanded. New programmes such as expert-led sprints and hackathons will also be developed in partnership with the bank’s Enterprise and Innovation team.
“We see innovation as being critically important – for our company, for our customers, and for the country as a whole,” says Francesca McDonagh, CEO, Bank of Ireland (pictured with Dr Prendergast). “It gives me great pleasure to deepen our relationship with Trinity – a college associated with original thought and innovation for many centuries. We look forward to working with Trinity College on a variety of I&E Hub programmes to help the ambitions of Ireland’s future leaders and innovators.”
“It’s another great opportunity for students to understand what it’s like to start a business.”
All Trinity students, researchers, and graduates will be able to take part in the innovation, entrepreneurial and idea development programmes at the Trinity Innovation and Entrepreneurship Hub.
“Promoting entrepreneurship as an engine for economic growth, and for social and cultural development is a key strategy for the university,” says Dr Patrick Prendergast, Provost of Trinity. “We must ensure that we derive value from our leading research and equip our students with the ability to drive innovation and thrive in a world of constant change.”
What do the students think?
Paul Allen, president of the university’s Entrepreneur Society, says the new undergraduate certificate in innovation and entrepreneurship gives students from all undergraduate disciplines the chance to test themselves and their ideas and build new businesses.
“Previously

Mobility Mojo is an Irish startup on the rise. It has been called the ‘TripAdvisor for people with disabilities’. CEO and co-founder Stephen Cluskey discusses his journey to date.

What is Mobility Mojo?
Mobility Mojo is an award-winning platform that works like TripAdvisor but focuses on accessibility. We specialise in information around access for people with reduced mobility and those with additional access needs. Our mission is to mainstream accessibility globally.
How did you find a co-founder for your business?
By chance, I was pitching at an event with Social Entrepreneurs of Ireland focusing on accessible transport. Noelle, my co-founder, was pitching at the same event in regards to accessible accommodation. It seemed like a no-brainer for us to join forces, and it’s been the best decision I’ve ever made. I think we complement each other extremely well.

“One in two people with a disability won’t travel for fear of something going wrong”

This isn’t your first business venture, how did your previous experiences shape your current business?
The previous businesses have been instrumental in helping figure things out. We learn so much more from our mistakes than any achievements and every day there are new lessons. I think if we even went back six months with Mobility Mojo, we would definitely change a few things but that’s like everything in life. I think the main lesson has been really prioritising the key parts of the business and dedicating all our focus to these. We are learning to say no as well, which is very important.
Why did you feel there was a market for Mobility Mojo?
Some of the statistics are startling. One in two people with a disability won’t travel for fear of something going wrong. Through the Mobility Mojo platform, we give people the confidence to go anywhere. This is the reason we exist, to

Hanna Walter is a career and business coach who specialises in working with Ireland’s Polish community to encourage more people from Poland to set up and run businesses in Ireland.

What’s your role?
I am a business and career coach at Inspiring Coaching. I also organise networking events for Polish people who want to set up businesses in Ireland or already have a business. For these events, we get great help from Bank of Ireland Workbenches and the Trade & Investment promotion section of the Embassy of the Republic of Poland in Dublin.
I also run smaller meetings for women where we talk about our passions and interests and encourage each other in terms of our careers and businesses.
What are you most interested in?
I am interested in people, what drives them, their mindset and their achievements. I am also interested in positive psychology and personal branding. My degree in marketing and my coaching qualifications made my perfect role and career. I love cooking, dancing and walking (even in the rain).
“We are the largest minority group in Ireland, but most of us aren’t involved in any networking events in Ireland. I want to change this.”
What are your ambitions?
I want to help Poles to integrate more with Irish businesses and encourage more people to set up businesses in Galway. Last year I was one of the finalists for Business Women of the Year as part of Network Galway, and I didn’t meet any other Polish women there. I started to organise events and networking for Poles because I am Polish and I know what we need it. I also want to do these types of events in other cities across Ireland. We are the largest minority group in Ireland, but most of us aren’t involved in any networking events in Ireland. I want to change

Sean O’Tuama, the founder of Firemole, discusses his ‘eureka’ moment, his invention, how he developed his product and the support he received at Cork’s Republic of Work.
My invention
Firemole is all about fire prevention over fire detection. We aim to catch rising temperatures and alert users to issues before a fire breaks out. There has been a 35% increase in residential fires over the last year and a 13% increase in workplace fires. We plan to reduce these figures with our innovative patent-pending fire safety device called Firemole, which sounds an inbuilt alarm when it detects high temperatures from the surface to which it is attached, and by doing so, potentially saving lives and properties.

My ‘eureka’ moment
I worked as an electrician and attended the aftermath of numerous fires in residential and commercial buildings. I found that in many of these cases the fire was caused by a specific electrical or electronic device. It was after an incident in my own home when the fuse board nearly caught fire (I didn’t install it), that got me thinking about developing a device like Firemole.
Why I applied for a Bank of Ireland scholarship desk at Republic of Work?
Being in a startup is tough, especially when you are the only one involved in it. While working on your own, in your bedroom or wherever you may be, you tend to ask yourself regularly “Am I crazy for doing this?” or “Should I just go and get a regular job?” and you can beat yourself up about things. I knew the scholarship desk in Republic of Work would give me the opportunity to be working alongside like-minded people. You may be in entirely different industries to the people you’re working alongside, but the problems are the same.
How was my experience as a scholar?
My experience in Republic of

Hugh O’Donnell is the former CEO of Clonmel-based engineering firm Kentz, who under his leadership became a global player in the oil-services sector.

 
After graduating from the University of Limerick in 1987 as a mechanical engineer, Hugh O’Donnell had planned on moving to the US but instead ended up spending a decade in South Africa working at a state-of-the-art coal mine in Standerton, about 170km east of Johannesburg for Anglo American.
At 35, he was appointed as CEO of Kentz and helped grow the company to a $2 billion global operation with over 14,000 employees in 36 countries.

“We Irish abroad work really well, we have this enormous tolerance for ambiguity which other cultures don’t have.”

Speaking on what contributed to their international success, Hugh cites twin-tracked USPs of unique technical skills combined with their ability to automate industrial facilities, engineer, design and roll these out globally and building a relationship with large oil and gas companies who didn’t possess these skills. Hugh also believes Kentz’ ability to adapt and thrive while working with multiple diverse cultures made to company stand out.
“We Irish abroad work really well, we have this enormous tolerance for ambiguity which other cultures don’t have. We deal with chaos more than others do and in my experience and where there’s chaos, there’s cash.”

“Where there’s chaos, there’s cash.”

At the height of the economic crisis, Hugh successfully lead Kentz’ IPO, which was a great success. In 2008, he went on to win the award for CEO for IPO of the Year London Stock Exchange. The same year Hugh was the winner of the UL Alumni Businessman of the Year and in 2009, he was the winner of Ernst and Young’s International Entrepreneur of the Year.
Speaking of his success, he says; “Motivational theory tells us that the two biggest motivators