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Pictured at the Launch of the announcment of €3.5m funding by Enterprise Ireland for New Frontiers delivered by MTU are Emily Reen – New Frontiers Programme Manager MTU Kerry Campus, Daniel Barrett – Global Head of Sales Wazp & MTU Graduate and Maria Panuli – Global Head of Marketing Wazp & MTU Graduate. Photo by Domnick Walsh
FUNDED by Enterprise Ireland, Munster Technological University (MTU) will spend €3.5m over the next five years on the New Frontiers Programme to support hundreds of entrepreneurs and to deliver 75 new companies in the South West Region.
This is a substantial injection of funding for the New Frontiers programme with delivery being available on both MTU campuses, The Tom Crean Business Centre in Tralee, and The Rubicon Centre in Cork.
Eighty applicants, across Cork and Kerry, will be accepted on to the first phase of the programme, a pre-acceleration phase, where their business idea and their capabilities as a potential entrepreneur will be challenged.
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During this part-time, 6 week phase, participants will benefit from workshops on business value proposition, market research and validation, sales training and financial management.
Those selected for the second phase will enjoy a suite of supports and uniquely, for an acceleration programme of this kind, no equity will be taken from the participants in return for the generous package of supports worth €30,000.
Announcing the initiative , President of MTU Prof Maggie Cusack said; “I am delighted to announce this next round of the New Frontiers Programme for the South West Region. Colleagues in Kerry and Cork have been collaborating on entrepreneurship supports for over twenty years and this initiative is an important pillar in the implementation of one of MTU’s key functions in the region, supporting entrepreneurship, enterprise development, and innovation in business”.
New Frontiers was fundamental in setting up Wazp. Within 6 months of completing New Frontiers, Tralee start-up Wazp 3D printing raised €250,000 in private investment and began work on developing the technology.
Since then WAZP has delivered the largest orders of 3D printed products in the world and is changing the way companies that depend on manufacturing are able to do business.
In 2017, Wazp raised a further €750,000 to fund its expansion, which included High Potential Start-up investment from Enterprise Ireland and subsequently raised €2 million in funding from backers. WAZP currently employs 13 people and lists global brands, IKEA, Puma and Next among its 50+ global clients.
Information on how to apply can be found on www.rubiconcentre.ie and www.creancentre.com
