Based in a custom-designed Bank of Ireland building on Eyre Square, the six companies selected for the programme benefit from a range of complementary facilities including desk space, high-speed wifi, conference rooms as well as one to one sessions with key coaches and mentors, introductions to investors and support from Bank of Ireland’s Innovation Team.

The six-month curriculum comprises sessions on business model validation, lean methodology, building strategic partnerships and stress-testing the product/market fit, culminating in a demo day pitch to bank execs and VCs.

Startups involved in the last incubator programme, which finished in August 2016. have had "fantastic success" since graduation, securing significant investment from VC funds, says the bank.

The startlabs accelerator complements the bank's Workbenches programme, which offer hot desking, meeting and event space to startup companies and entrepreneurs. Running at Galway, Dublin, Limerick and Cork, the Workbenches have so far welcomed more than 10,000 visitors, hosted more than 200 events, and supported more than 100 startup enterprises, says Tracey Keogh, community manager, Bank of Ireland.

“Startlab, through its customised programmes, focuses on helping businesses to develop their teams, fine-tune their ideas and engage potential customers and investors," she says. "Supporting and empowering startups is at the heart of Bank of Ireland’s enterprise ethos and we look forward to working with our new entrepreneurs over the coming months.”

The cohort for this year's startlab includes:

• CitySwifter, a crowd-sourced commuter shuttle bus
• HappyTech, which provides a chatbot learning interface for tech firms
• BriteBiz business management software
• Missing Minutes, a mobile time recording, analysis and reporting tool for the professional services industry
• ToyPing, which explores Amazon’s extensive toy portfolio to discover the best toys to match an individual child’s age and interests
• OpenBox Models for spreadheet modellers.