Written answers

Thursday, 14 November 2019

Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation

InterTradeIreland Funding

Photo of Robert TroyRobert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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106. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the details of the Halo Business Angel Network run by InterTradeIreland; the current and capital budget allocation for the programme in each of the years 2016 to 2020, in tabular form; the number of participants in each year of the programme; and the maximum funding permitted for each successful investment. [46991/19]

Photo of Heather HumphreysHeather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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The Halo Business Angels Network, operated by InterTradeIreland (ITI), helps companies raise new equity capital in the early stages of their development. It also represents an alternative source of investment to venture capital funding.

The term “Business Angels” refers to high net worth individuals who invest on their own, or as part of a syndicate, in high growth businesses. In addition to capital, they often make their own skills, experience and contacts available to the company concerned to help it grow and develop. The individual amounts invested by Business Angels are usually in the range of €25,000 to €250,000, although syndicated deals (where a group of angels invest together) can be up to €1m.

I understand there is no maximum limit set by ITI on an investment through the initiative, as this is a matter for the investor and the company to determine themselves. I am informed as well that those that invest in companies are not considered as “participants”, given that they engage directly with the firms on the nature of their investment.

The Network has achieved positive results. In 2016, for example, a total of 50 deals – totalling €14 million – were reached through the initiative. In 2017 and 2018 there 33 and 34 deals respectively, with a value of €7.7 million and €5.9 million.

ITI’s budget for the Network, which is used to help promote the initiative and link investors with high growth firms, has amounted to the following since 2016:

2016 - £298,250

2017 - £326,000

2018 - £345,000

2019 - £410,843

The budget for the Network in 2020 is currently estimated to be £407,302.

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