An investment of €200,000 in a new CoConnect initiative by Dublin’s Guinness Enterprise Centre (GEC) will help build connections with enterprise hubs nationwide.
The programme, a home-away-from-home for businesses and their employees, will help enrich the start-up ecosystem throughout the country by promoting more engagement and collaboration between regions.
Through CoConnect, start-ups and scale-ups based in participating county-based enterprise hubs can avail of co-working space in the GEC, while GEC-based companies can benefit from co-working space in connected enterprise hubs.
In addition, companies who engage with the programme through their own enterprise hub will have access to the GEC’s award-winning University Programme.
This initiative enables start-ups to collaborate with Irish and international MBA and PhD students who can research and solve their most pressing business challenges.
This year, the GEC was named as the World’s Top Business Incubator, collaborating with University at the UBI Awards.
Entrepreneurs can also develop invaluable connections through the GEC’s entrepreneurial network and start-up community.
In the last six months the GEC has piloted the programme and already partnered with more than 40 enterprise hubs as part of the CoConnect pilot initiative.
OPENING DOORS
Eoghan O’Mahony, Senior Cluster Manager, it@cork, said: “We’re delighted to formalise our link with the GEC through CoConnect. This gives our members an opportunity to tap into the start-up culture within the GEC, meet other companies at different growth stages and look for potential synergies. These linkages are important for networking, business development and collaboration on projects.
“Many of our members are in Dublin on a weekly basis so having a home away from home in Dublin that is convenient to Heuston Station is a real benefit”.
The funding for the initiative was supported by the Regional Enterprise Development Fund (REDF) which is provided by the Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation, through Enterprise Ireland and the GEC.
