Guests from the local tech start-up sector, investment funds and academia attended the official launch in the Ormeau Baths innovation space to hear about Deloitte’s plans for further investment in the start-up ecosystem in Belfast.
Scott Campbell, Deloitte Ventures lead explained: “At Deloitte Ventures we co-create and co-invest with leading corporations to build new partnerships, platforms and products.
“We pair disruptive technologies and ground-breaking start-ups with our advisory expertise to solve pressing problems and achieve commercial success. For us it isn’t purely about financial return – we look for strategic alignment with what Deloitte offers our clients.”
To date, Deloitte has invested in 37 external ventures, from drones to fintech, and has helped its own staff to get more than 100 ideas off the ground. The investments it makes are in external companies which are at early stage investment, and are typically valued at between £150,000 and £1m.
Guests at the launch heard from an expert panel of speakers from the local tech sector which included Steve Orr from Catalyst Inc, Mark Dowds from Trov, Ian Browne from IGNITE and Ben Bland from Sensum.
Jackie Henry, senior partner at Deloitte in Northern Ireland said: “The start-up ecosystem in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland has been developing at a rapid pace over the past number of years. We as a firm are fully committed to growing these eco-systems in a spirit of real collaboration.
“We are extremely proud to be part of this vibrant, ever-growing eco-system and we recognise that if we as a firm want to continue to grow we must double our efforts to stay relevant, in part by combining forces with high growth start-ups.”
Pictured (L-R) at the launch of Deloitte Ventures at the Ormeau Baths in Belfast are Roisin Finnegan from Deloitte in Belfast, Steve Orr of Catalyst Inc, Mark Dowds from Trov and Scott Campbell, Deloitte Ventures lead.
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