Eoghan Murphy TD, Minister of State for Financial Services will today officiate at a closing event, which celebrates the completion of a three month development and mentoring programme by 10 new Irish Fintech companies at Dogpatch Labs in the chq building, IFSC, Dublin.

The ten companies were each awarded €50,000 in equity support earlier this year through Enterprise Ireland’s Competitive Start Fund, as part of the IFS2020 strategy. Applications were open to early stage companies providing technology driven solutions within the financial services sector.

The ten successful applicants received membership to Dogpatch Labs, in partnership with Ulster Bank and access to the Ulster Bank Innovation Solutions team.

As part of the programme, the ten companies also participated in a series of masterclasses provided by industry experts from the Fintech and Payments Association of Ireland (FPAI) and led by Ulster Bank and Citi on topics to include compliance, sales, partnering and fund raising.

The successful companies, ranging from insurance to banking to wearables, who today completed the three month development programme include:

• id-Pal
• WeSavvy
• CyberRiskAware
• AssureHedge
• MartelloLowCarbonSolutions
• Ciaran McGuckian
• UCompare
• Tucr
• Inship

At today’s event Minister Murphy said “I congratulate the companies here today on completing the development programme. Strengthening our indigenous Fintech sector as a source of high-value job creation is a key objective of the Government’s IFS 2020 Strategy. This programme’s mentoring and sponsorship model demonstrates how we can effectively harness industry scale and expertise while nurturing mutually beneficial links with our innovative start-up community. I welcome Enterprise Ireland’s initiative to support the development of a world-class start-up ecosystem, and wish these companies every success for the future”

Leo McAdams, Divisional Manager ICT & International Services, Enterprise Ireland said: “The FinTech Competitive Start Fund is part of Enterprise Ireland’s strategy for increasing the number and quality of High Potential Start-Ups companies that have the potential to employ more than 10 people and achieve €1 million in export sales within three years. The companies and entrepreneurs graduating here today are prime examples of start-ups with global ambition, who will continue to drive Ireland’s reputation as a market leader in the provision of fintech products and services upwards”.

Ciaran Coyle, Chief Administrative Officer at Ulster Bank said: “Ulster Bank is proud to support this initiative and the ten companies who have gone through the programme. Engaging with the FinTech community in a collaborative way is key for Ulster Bank as we strive to become the number one bank for customer service, trust and advocacy. I look forward to continuing to engage with these companies in the future.”