Exclusive: Planning begins for state hub to back Irish start-ups
Start-Ups
Enterprise Ireland and Department of Enterprise holding consultations on plan modelled on a hugely successful French incubator
The government is proposing the establishment of a national incubator to fuel Irish innovation, the Business Post has learned.
Consultations will be held with key players in the Irish start-up and entrepreneurship ecosystem about the plans which Enterprise Ireland claims will “position Ireland as one of the leading countries in the world to start and scale global business.”
The hub would be similar in nature to Station F, the hugely successful French tech incubator that is widely regarded as a blueprint for other countries to follow in helping indigenous start-ups to scale.
A number of organisations here have been invited to join consultations being held by the Department of Enterprise and Enterprise Ireland next week to discuss plans for the hub.
Industry sources who spoke to the Business Post said the talks are of an exploratory nature only at this stage.
Located in a former railway depot in Paris, Station F is the brainchild of Xavier Niel, the owner of Eir.
Established in 2017, it is the world’s largest start-up campus with 1,000 companies based there.
In addition to desk space, the incubator provides over 30 programmes, mentorship and other services, to help early-stage companies to scale.
Station F has become the centrepiece of Emmanuel Macron’s ‘innovation economy,’ which has seen France take the lead in supporting indigenous start-ups in Europe.
Simon Coveney, the minister for enterprise, has name-checked Station F a number of times recently in discussions regarding innovation, and is believed to see value in establishing something similar in Ireland.
Leo Clancy, the Enterprise Ireland chief executive, to organisations, has emailed a number of organisations to get the views of interested parties on a project that “seeks to foster innovation, accelerate company growth, and enhance collaboration.”
The organisations have been invited to consultations in Enterprise Ireland’s offices in East Point Business Park on Thursday and Friday next week.
A spokesman for Enterprise Ireland told the Business Post that three sessions will be held across the two days next week.
“The consultations are intended to capture the views of key players in the Irish start-up and entrepreneurship ecosystem about how such a hub could enhance collaboration across the system and position Ireland as one of the leading countries in the world to start and scale global business,” he said.
Irish organisations such as Scale Ireland have long argued that the government should provide greater support for start-ups and scale-ups as a hedge against a decline in foreign direct investment.
Lithuania, which has been seeking to establish itself as a leading tech hub, recently announced plans to establish a €100 million incubator that at 55,000 square metres would be nearly two-thirds bigger than Station F.
Other European countries have also launched stimulus packages in a bid to boost innovation among start-ups, and established innovation districts.
Trinity College Dublin unveiled plans for a €1 billion innovation campus in 2020 but much of this has since been scaled back.
