10 start-ups begin the 2020 Ignite NI Accelerator programme

  • A new cohort has begun the third Ignite NI Accelerator, an intensive three-month programme that supports new companies in attracting investment and scaling business in export markets.

    After two years, Ignite NI has helped 85 early-stage firms across the Accelerator and Propel Pre-Accelerator programmes.

    The Accelerator programme is supported by Invest NI and based in the Ormeau Baths in Belfast.

    It takes the teams to London, Dublin and San Francisco where they are exposed to international mentors, investors and entrepreneurs.

    Ignite NI has a network of 200 global investors and gives founders direct access to over 400 people including leaders in the technology industry.

    The aim is to enable start-ups to learn from their real-world experiences of what it’s like to start, grow and operate global companies, and raise billions of dollars.

    RELATED: Ignite accelerator teams raise over £1m in funding

    Included in this year's cohort is TrueStock, regional NI winner of the Start-Up World Cup and fellow regional finalist ESTHER.

    Business mentors include David Singleton, CTO of Stripe, Eoghan McCabe the CEO of Intercom, and the director of strategy at IDEO, Susan O’Malley.

    Teams on the programme have accumulated over £8.5m of early-stage venture capital thus far, with almost half of that coming in the final quarter of 2019.

    This includes one of Northern Ireland’s largest seed rounds of £2.1m raised by Accelerator alumni Cloudsmith.

    Chris McClelland, programme director of Ignite NI said: “We received applications from 17 countries across five continents which made this year the most competitive selection process to date.

    “These founders are working with cutting edge technology, such as predictive algorithms in machine learning, virtual reality, international payment infrastructure and renewable energy, all rapidly growing markets with global opportunities. We couldn't be more excited to welcome these teams to the growing Ignite NI portfolio and will be sharing their progress over the coming weeks.”

    RELATED: 21 Northern Irish start-ups ready for Propel 2020

    The ten teams on this year’s Accelerator programme:

    Altra – Enabling healthcare managers to fill shifts with available carers. 

    BookEntertainment – Marketplace connecting entertainers with customers.

    CORA Technologies  –Construction management platform providing real-time data insight and predictive analytics to keep large projects on-time and on-budget.

    ESTHER  – Peer-to-peer charitable donation platform, connecting people who want to help directly with people who are in need. 

    Obbi Solutions – Integrates compliance, HR, Health & Safety and Facility Management in the construction, healthcare and manufacturing sectors.

    payhere –Set-up recurring and one-off online payments in minutes: no coding or website building required!

    Shopper.com –Community-driven global marketplace for online and offline voucher codes.

    SideQuest –Testflight for Oculus. VR content platform with a suite of tools for creating and distributing.

    Skylark Control – OS for renewable energy. Initially wind farms.

    TrueStock –Logistics and inventory management solution that can forecast inventory needs.

    About the author

    Niamh is a Sync NI writer with a previous background of working in FinTech and financial crime. She has a special interest in sports and emerging technologies. To connect with Niamh, feel free to send her an email or connect on Twitter.

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