Ireland is a country with a thriving startup and VC ecosystem, that nurtures startups by tax incentives, grants and support programs in order to help them succeed. It’s not a surprise then, that we can present you with so many amazing accelerators under the symbol of green shamrock. So without further ado, let’s have a look at the leading startup accelerators and incubators in Ireland!
Hatch Blue
Hatch Blue was founded in 2017 and is one of the first organization that focuses on fostering innovation in the sector of Aquaculture And Alternative Seafood. They do so through a number of initiatives - with a startup accelerator amongst them. The acceleration program lasts for 16 weeks, which are filled with workshops and mentoring sessions. Selected teams also get access to R&D centers where they can validate their ideas or work on MVP. In exchange for that, Hatch receives 8% of the equity. The main aim of the program is to find and select teams with innovative and sustainable solutions that solve real problems from sectors such as biotech, health, nutrition, production, and alternative seafood.
Hatch works in three locations: Bergen, Big Island of Hawaii, and Singapore. Each branch organizes its own demo day to reach as many investors, mentors and possible clients as possible.
Dogpatch Labs
Located in the capital city of Ireland, Dublin, Dogpatch Labs has a goal to build a bridge between the world of startups and corporates. It offers an acceleration program, created in close partnership with Alltech, that gathers applications from startups from all over the world. Throughout the last 3 years over 500 teams from 38 countries have applied to the program.
In order to create the best possible curriculum for the program, the Dog Patch team together with Alltech improve the workshops and update KPIs before every new batch.
The program itself lasts for 3 months and culminates with a demo day, during which the 10 best startups present their ideas in front of corporate executives and investors.
NadiFin
If you’re working on solutions using AI/ML, Big Data Analytics, Blockchain, or other deep-tech tools you should definitely check out the NadiFin accelerator. NadFin is located in Dublin, and since 2019 it supports startups, that create seamless solutions for the European market of financial services. The Acceleration program lasts for 2 weeks and consists of two workshop sessions that provide knowledge essential for scaling businesses and ensuring profitable growth. Moreover, all participants of the program can consult with a broad network of investors and strategic partners as well as benefit from joining an enormous community of fintech-related specialists.
NDRC LaunchPad
The goal of NDRC LaunchPad is to turn good ideas into financially viable businesses throughout its 3-month long acceleration program. Selected startups get many perks which include personalized mentoring sessions with top-notch industry specialists, special offers worth up to €500k, the possibility to attend investors’ lunches, international trips, and use designated office spaces for one year. The foundation phase of the program focuses on customer development, getting ready for the seed round, and a Demo Day - during which startups can present in front of an audience filled with investors, business angels and corporate partners. After that, teams can move on to the second phase - the Development Phase - devoted to the topic of fundraising. Last but not least, NDRC offers a Post Programme Support, that helps its alumni with scaling, hiring, acquiring new customers and obtaining further funding. What is interesting, is that it is one of the first European accelerators which use SAFE with a €100k investment. SAFE (Simple Agreement for Future Equity) an agreement between an investor and a startups which provides rights to the investor for future equity in the company similar to a warrant.
Hartnett Enterprise Acceleration Centre
Hartnett Enterprise Acceleration Centre is a business acceleration centre located in Limerick, that aims to create a unique environment stimulating innovation, research commercialisation, internationalization and entrepreneurship. Since 2006 it has helped over 90 startups that now can officially be called companies. The acceleration program they offer is called New Frontiers and consists of three phases: idea phase that is held over a few evenings, business development phase lasting for a full 6 months and last but not least - a 3-month long implementation phase. Each phases focuses on a different topic and sets new KPIs in order to ensure selected startups can maximally benefit from the acceleration program. It consists of various bootcamps, meetings with specialists and other startups-related initiatives with the help from the Hartnett community.
International Security Accelerator
The name speaks for itself, International Security Accelerator works with projects from sectors such as cybersecurity, Internet of Things, Blockchain, AI, Health, Bioinformatics, Defence, Critical Infrastructure and Financial Services. Selected startups can benefit from the 13-month long, tailored-made program, free office space, access to the most respected mentors and workshop covering topics such as marketing, scaling, digital brand building, investment readiness and many more. They also become members of GAN (GlobalAccelerator Network) and can secure a €50,000 worth investment, by way of a Convertible Loan Note. During the selection process each team is being evaluated on the basis of 5 key criteria: team, technology, business model, early traction and commitment - only 7 teams are selected for entering the program.
Alpha Programme Dublin
Founded in 2014, The Alpha Accelerator offers a 12-week long, extremely intensive program that is a perfect match for pre-seed startups focused on raising at least £350K in the 6 months following the program start date. It is filled with workshops led by industry experts, constant feedback from the startup community, fundraising fundamentals, weekly pitch practises, 1 on 1 consultations with mentors and networking. The selection criteria take into consideration the founder's background as one of the members of the team must be from an underrepresented group (gender, BAME, LGBTQ+, retired and others), the project also must be from the urban sector and have A beta or MVP version of the product.
What’s more?
There are many more initiatives in the startup ecosystem of Ireland. Worth highlighting is a Launchbox-Targent’s Student Accelerator - a project set up in the Trinity College in Dublin, dedicated to undergrad and postgrad students who want to develop their ideas into profitable business. It offers a summer programme that gives participants opportunity to secure €10K in funding, attend mentoring sessions with industry leaders, get access to best investors, office space and more. In Dublin, you may also find the Small Foundation that works as a non-profit organization providing financial support, technological help and access to the leading companies, eager to reinforce projects with social impact.
Want to discover more accelerators and incubators from other countries? Check out the list below.
Top Accelerators and Incubators from:
- Round-up Of The Best Accelerators In The CEE Region
- Albania
- Austria
- Belgium
- Bulgaria
- Croatia
- Cyprus
- Czech Republic
- Denmark
- Estonia
- France
- Finland
- Germany
- Greece
- Hungary
- Italy
- Latvia
- Lithuania
- Netherlands
- Norway
- Poland
- Portugal
- Romania
- Slovakia
- Slovenia
- Spain
- Switzerland
- Türkiye
- Ukraine
- United Kingdom
- Western Balkans.
Related Posts:
Best Startup Accelerators and Incubators In The UK (by Dorota Potępa, Community Builder, Vestbee)
Best Startup Accelerators and Incubators In Slovenia (by Dorota Potępa, Community Builder, Vestbee)
Best Startup Accelerators and Incubators In Estonia (by Dorota Potępa, Community Builder, Vestbee)
