The Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment has today opened the third call for expressions of interest for venture fund managers seeking to secure investment under the €175m Seed and Venture Capital Scheme.
Applications for the scheme are now open through Enterprise Ireland.
Up to €82m is available under the third call of the scheme to commercially managed funds focused at the earliest stages of company development, where raising capital is often a challenge for Irish early-stage companies.
Tánaiste Leo Varadkar said the scheme will provide a significant boost to the funding available for early-stage Irish companies with global ambitions.
"The Seed and Venture Capital Scheme provides much needed investment for Irish companies at a crucial stage of development, when they are at the cusp of getting to the next level. These are companies which have a lot of potential and are the job creators of the future," Mr Varadkar said.
The Tánaiste said the indigenous enterprise sector is a major employer and a crucial part of our economy.
"It's been a really difficult for year for many. This is part of an overall package that is in place to help Irish business recover and indeed flourish, post-pandemic," he added.
Since 1994 the Government, through Enterprise Ireland, has invested in four Seed and Venture Capital Schemes.
It has provided funding of €561m that has leveraged substantial additional external funding of over €1 billion, directly benefitting over 740 Irish companies.
