HI-TECH COMPANIES TAKE SEEDCORN REGIONAL TITLES

Derry and Newry winners go forward to all-island titles

Two companies have won €20,000 each and a chance to share in a total prize fund of €280,000 after clinching the Northern Ireland regional titles in the InterTradeIreland All-Island Seedcorn Business Competition 08.

Learning Pool of Derry, who won the Emerging International Company category, provide a suite of e-learning subscription services to the UK public sector.

Their products and services are used by individuals and organisations, mainly in local government and education, to develop their competencies, improve service and encourage legislative awareness.

Media Lightbox of Newry, who won the Emerging Company category, offer an innovative web-based media asset management solution for storing and sharing media files.  These may take the form of images, video, audio, pdf print marketing collateral, vector files, presentations, documents, fonts or 3D models.

Both companies are now in line to win the top prizes of €100,00 (EIC) and €50,000 (EC) at he all-island final in Belfast on November 27.

Liam Nellis, chief executive of InterTradeIreland, the all-island trade and business development organisation which runs Seedcorn, said:  “The island of Ireland is rightly renowned for its spirit of entrepreneurship and these are two very worthy regional winners.

 “We know taking part in Seedcorn will give them, as well as all the other entrants, access to invaluable advice from some of the island’s top investment experts, helping them to raise investment and accelerate the growth of their businesses.”

Grainne Lennon, InterTradeIreland Seedcorn Programme Manager, said: “Both these companies possess qualities which could make them highly attractive to investors - a unique offering with the potential for fast growth and high returns.”

Learning Pool and Media Lightbox will be joined at the finals by six other regional winners winners, representing Dublin, Munster and Connacht, to vie for the all-island titles.

ENDS

Notes to Editor:

Further information from Shelley Moore, InterTradeIreland, tel 028 3083 4100 or Janet Devlin of Davidson Cockcroft Ltd, tel 078 2818 6745.

·        Contacts: Learning Pool – Paul McElvaney, tel: 7101 9383; Media Lightbox – Shane Meehan, tel: 3083 4040.

·        An additional prize of €10,000 will go to the best venture stemming from a university spinout or platform programme.

REGIONAL FINALISTS

Infurious Ltd, Newtownabbey, Matt Johnston,  tel 0751 535 2971.

The Infurious Comic Reader is a multimedia delivery platform for the Apple iPhone and iPod touch.  It can deliver images, text, video and audio content individually or layered straight to the devices via the App Store or over WiFi or cellular networks.  It is run by a unique team – a comic artist with a computer background, a computer programmer with a background in educational technology, and a business entrepreneur with a writing background.

 

Mash Direct, Comber, Tracy Hamilton,  tel 9187 8316.

 

Produce an innovative range of delicious quick-serve mashed potato, root vegetable and cabbage products with no artificial additives, preservatives or colourings with the taste and texture of homemade food. The company is now establishing a new product range and exploring how they can convert waste products into animal feeds and compost.

 

Mud Blaster Systems, Armagh Paul Coyle, tel: 08450 949001.

Have developed a very innovative mobile product that removes suspended solids from water using no moving parts. You pump contaminated water in one end and the flow is stilled before being directed towards a set of inclined plates that trap the suspended solids, allowing the clean water to rise to the outlet.  The unique technology is patent pending.