The Irish incubation hub has existing partnerships with Manchester’s innovation district Sister, Central Tech in Liverpool and CodeBase in Scotland.

The Guinness Enterprise Centre (GEC) is to grow its strategic network with partnering UK innovation hubs to 20 by the end of next year.

The incubator for Irish start-ups and scale-ups said it wants to provide its client companies with the soft-landing supports needed to enter the country’s biggest export market, the UK.

While approximately half of revenues generated by GEC resident companies are through exports, and the UK is a natural first export market due to its proximity, cultural similarities, common language and familiar business ecosystem, its scale can be daunting for Irish start-ups who may lack sufficient networks or budgets to successfully expand by themselves, according to the GEC.

The GEC has already established partnerships with Manchester’s innovation district Sister, Central Tech in Liverpool and CodeBase in Scotland.

UK regional and city hubs will give Ireland’s founders access to local networks, workspace, universities and practical market-entry support as they explore opportunities, the GEC said.

“When start-ups scale into new markets, they often don’t know where to begin. They are tasked with finding new customers, team members and growth opportunities in places where they may know very few people,” said Niamh Collins, the GEC’s centre director.

“The UK is a natural next market for many Irish companies, but international expansion is a significant undertaking for a start-up. By partnering with established hubs on the ground, we can reduce some of those barriers and give founders a much stronger starting point.

“We are creating connections that founders can actually use and opening doors to some of the strongest regional innovation ecosystems in our nearest international market.”

The agreements are reciprocal, the GEC said, and UK-based start-ups can now use the centre as a “landing point” in Ireland and for connection with the Irish business and innovation ecosystem.

“At a time when both the UK and Irish governments are focused on driving growth, backing innovation and helping ambitious companies to scale, these new partnerships will help innovative businesses to reach new markets, attract investment and create high-quality jobs on both sides of the Irish Sea,” said the UK’s ambassador to Ireland, Kara Owen.

“This is a powerful example of how collaboration between cities and regions can unlock economic opportunity, strengthen competitiveness and deliver sustainable growth for our communities.”

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