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Liam Cronin, CEO of RDI Hub Kerry with Reidín O Connor, Community Manager and Fionnuala O’Callaghan, Operations Manager in RDI Hub.
RDI Hub Kerry, based in Killorglin, has been announced by the Government as one of four hubs awarded the €17m contract to manage the NDRC (National Digital Research Centre) over the next five years.
RDI Kerry and partners Dogpatch Labs Dublin, Portershed Galway and Republic of Work Cork, will deliver mentorship-driven accelerator and pre-accelerator programmes, and pre-seed funding to entrepreneurs across Ireland.
They will invest in globally-focused, ‘high impact’ startups, to create world-class internationally scalable Irish companies.
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RDI Hub, based in Killorglin, is backed by Fexco, Institute of Technology, Tralee and Kerry County Council.
A first of its kind, RDI Hub focuses on commercialisation of innovation and research in the technologies’ sectors and helps both indigenous and international start-ups and corporates scale their business. RDI hub is supported under the Department of Business, Enterprise & Innovation‘s Regional Enterprise Development Fund administered by Enterprise Ireland.
Established in 2006, the NDRC is a Government initiative to invest in very young digital enterprises and start-ups.
“The next phase of the NDRC connects ecosystems across the country, with each regional hub representing a local centre of entrepreneurial excellence to support people in getting their ideas off the ground,” said Eamon Ryan TD, Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications.
“Being well connected throughout our regions as well as internationally means that we can share knowledge and grow together as a country. The digital revolution is all about trying, failing and innovating, and I’m pleased that Dogpatch Labs and its regional partners will collaborate to help the next generation of entrepreneurs get started.”
The new NDRC programmes will take place in Kerry, Cork, Dublin and Galway, with applications opening in Q1 2021.
The contract win coincides with the launch of the Irish Tech Hub Network, made up of Dogpatch Labs, Portershed, Republic of Work, and RDI Hub, with other best-in-class innovation hubs Ludgate Hub Cork and Ormeau Baths Belfast. The network will collaborate to share knowledge and resources to drive innovation across the island of Ireland.
