New Frontiers at WIT
The School of Business at Waterford Institute of Technology (WIT) has managed the Enterprise Ireland-funded New Frontiers Entrepreneur Development Programme and its predecessor, the South East Enterprise Platform Programme (SEEPP) since 1999.
The New Frontiers programme at WIT is one example of the significant focus and resources which the Institute places on entrepreneurship and enterprise development of the SouthEast region. In 2016 WIT secured €1.5m funding from Enterprise Ireland (EI) to deliver the New Frontiers programme until 2020. The programme continues to play an important role within the entrepreneurial ecosystem of the region, acting as a knowledge broker by connecting New Frontiers participants to other stakeholders in the ecosystem.
Since 2011, WIT has supported 198 participants on Phase 1 of New Frontiers and 68 participants on Phase 2. These 68 Phase 2 participants created 122 jobs in the region and between them have secured €4.8 million in private and state investment. Fourteen of them have secured the Enterprise Ireland €50,000 Competitive Start Fund and eight of these are now Enterprise Ireland High Potential Start-up (HPSU) companies having secured private investment and matched funding from EI in the range of €300,000 to 500,000 each.
Some of the New Frontiers/SEEPP past participants include: Immersive VR Education, who launched on the Dublin and London Stock Exchanges in March 2018 with a valuation of €21M; Taoglas who are pioneers in miniaturised antennae and are active in the autonomous driving sector with an annual turnover of €60-70 million; StitcherAds help brand companies to manage Facebook advertising campaigns; and many more.
