Scalable startups sought for inaugural Ignite NI accelerator programme

by Startacus Admin

Time is ticking to apply for the inaugural Ignite accelerator programme in Northern Ireland. If you’re a startup looking to raise between £250k - £1m in investment, and in the next 12 months, read on...

Ignite, who recently launched its first Accelerator programme in Northern Ireland, are currently on countdown for applications from companies based in NI, Republic of Ireland, Great Britain and from across Europe, for its inaugural Belfast based programme. With applications closing on the 16th February (2018), we took a look at all the key details on this exciting Ignite opportunity.

Targeted at companies who have already launched and now need help scaling and / or raising investment, the 12-week accelerator programme is offering selected startups a convertible loan of £15k (an additional £5k convertible loan to help with relocation costs is available to those selected from outside of NI).

The Ignite programme will also offer selected startups:

• A 12 week programme to accelerate growth through intensive coaching and mentoring from experienced entrepreneurs, investment readiness workshops and the opportunity to pitch to leading VCs and Angels

• Up to £100,000 AWS, Google Cloud or Azure Credits

• Discounted or free packages from companies including Sendgrid, Github, Nexmo, Digital Ocean and many more.

• Up to 9 months free co-working space at Ormeau Baths

• 2 x London Trips to meet Founders and Investors (Flights and Hotels paid for)

• US Trip to meet Founders and Investors in SF and NY (Flights and Hotels paid for)

Starting on on the 26th March (2018) the programme, including the free trips to San Fran, and New York, have made notable additions to the standard accelerator offering, with the global travel and networking opportunities on offer. Selected businesses will spend 10 days during the programme meeting startup founders, mentors and investors on both the West and East Coast.

Ignite has historically invested in more than 120 companies since 2011, helping them to raise more than £30 million in investment, and with a history of running successful accelerator programmes in London, Manchester and Newcastle, Belfast seemed like a natural next step for the team.

Tristan Watson, Ignite CEO had this to say about the opportunity:

“We’re looking to work with established companies, with a team in place, who are ready to take the next step in their growth. You might have bootstrapped to date or took a small angel or proof of concept round and now you’re looking to raise a seed round that will allow you to start scaling.”

At the end of the 12 week programme, Ignite will arrange a series of Investor lunches, giving the founders and investors an opportunity to learn more about each other and see if there’s an opportunity to work together.

With Investors at recent Ignite lunches including Passion Capital, Balderton, Techstars, 500 Startups, DN Capital, Forward Partners, ADV, Northstar, Backed.vc, Episode 1, and ProFounders along with early-stage UK angels, this is an excellent opportunity to end the programme by taking that perhaps next natural step into raising funds.

Tristan goes on to explain:

“The programme will help you to get investment ready, putting in place a scalable growth plan, identifying your investment needs, and then introducing you to more than 50 of the UK & Ireland’s top venture capitalists and angels that are actively investing in early stage deals.”

Applications for the Belfast accelerator close on 16th February 2018 and good luck to all that apply.

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Published on: 8th February 2018