Published on: Wednesday, 07 December 2011

Participants on the award winning Genesis Enterprise Programme, based at CIT’s Rubicon Centre, were delighted as plans by AIB Seed Capital Fund to make available Seed Capital Funding to the value of €50,000 were unveiled on Monday, 5th December, at an event held in the Rubicon Centre.

“We are delighted to have AIB Seed Capital Fund provide us with the investment prize for the Genesis participants. This will provide a golden opportunity for a Genesis participant to further develop their business and bring their project to market,” said Paul Healy, General Manager of the Rubicon Centre.

Speaking on the night, Frank Walsh, a Partner in Enterprise Equity, co-manager of AIB Seed Capital Fund said: “AIB Seed Capital recognises the huge contribution which entrepreneurship has to play in the economic recovery. Incubation programmes such as Genesis play an important part stimulating and supporting entrepreneurship and both AIB Seed Capital Fund and Enterprise Equity are delighted to be associated with both the Rubicon Centre and the Cork Institute of Technology.”

John Slattery, AIB, 66 South Mall, Cork; Frank Walsh, Enterprise Equity, co-manager of AIB Seed Capital Fund; Dr Brendan Murphy, President, CIT; and Paul Healy, General Manager, Rubicon Centre; at the announcement of plans by AIB Seed Capital Fund to make available funding to the value of E50,000 to a participant on the Genesis Enterprise Programme. Photo News Digital

Each of the participants on the current 2011/12 Genesis programme is in with a chance of winning this €50,000 seed capital prize, placing the winner in a very strong position to develop and grow their business to its full potential. The current cohort of Genesis participants come from a variety of industries – electronics, energy conservation, e-commerce, food production, healthcare, software development, technical writing and wireless communications.

In March 2012, at the end of the 2011/ 2012 Genesis programme, each participating business will be presented to the public during the annual showcase exhibition. Along with other significant prizes, the recipient of the funding from AIB Seed Capital will be announced at this prestigious event.

Genesis is the Rubicon’s flagship development programme and its main focus is to provide supports to businesses which will enable them to grow and increase employment. To date, Genesis has assisted over 200 individuals and teams in starting and growing their businesses. More than 70% of the businesses that have completed the Genesis programme over the last 12 years are still in operation to-day. These businesses employ more than 1400 people and over 50% of the businesses are trading internationally. Genesis is the largest source of “High Potential Start Ups” (HPSU) for Enterprise Ireland in the Region and over 40 businesses have gone on to be designated HPSU status. Past Genesis companies have raised in excess of €100m in external funding.

The Genesis Enterprise Programme is currently recruiting participants for the next Programme, commencing in March 2012. Further details can be found on the website www.rubiconcentre.ie or phone (021) 492 8916.

About Genesis:

The Genesis Enterprise Programme, which is operated by Cork Institute of Technology in partnership with Enterprise Ireland, provides a package of supports to the entrepreneur in accelerating the development of their business over a twelve month period. These supports include funding, training, office facilities, mentoring and access to CIT facilities and CIT’s Entrepreneur in Residence, Kieran Moynihan.

The programme supports the development of the entrepreneurs’ businesses, and aims to ensure that the business is both sustainable and scalable by the end of the programme. During the programme, participants are equipped with the skills necessary to develop an idea into a business, talk to the market, raise investment capital, and launch the product/service in the marketplace.

In 2010 Genesis was shortlisted for the European Enterprise Awards. Representing Ireland, Genesis fought off stiff competition from more than 330 projects from 28 European countries when it received an award for "Promoting the Entrepreneurial Spirit” at the European Enterprise Awards.

The Genesis Enterprise Programme is jointly funded by Cork Institute of Technology and Enterprise Ireland.

About AIB Seed Capital Fund

The AIB Seed Capital Fund was established in 2007 to provide venture capital for companies at the seed and early stage of development across a range of sectors throughout the Republic of Ireland. The Fund was established under the Enterprise Ireland and Venture Capital Programme 2007-2012.

The Fund has a total of €53 million under management with AIB committing €30 million and Enterprise Ireland €23 million. Enterprise Equity is co-manager for the fund. To-date the AIB Seed Capital Fund has made 53 investments in 34 Companies.