InterTradeIreland’s 2026 Seedcorn Investor Readiness Competition is now open for entries. The Seedcorn Investor Readiness Competition focuses on helping entrepreneurs get ready for investment through structured investor feedback, pitch development and engagement with experienced investors. The programme is designed to equip founders with the skills, insight and confidence required to successfully navigate funding conversations and scale their businesses.
The competition includes a total prize fund of €800,000, with a continued emphasis on supporting a broad range of businesses across Business to Consumer (B2C), Business to Business (B2B), and Deeptech categories across four regions. Each regional winner will receive €50,000, while category winners will be awarded €100,000, providing companies of different sizes and sectors with meaningful funding alongside investor-readiness support to help drive their growth.
Over the last 23 years, Seedcorn has supported 4,300 businesses across a wide range of sectors who have gone on to raise over €435m, contributing to the development of a strong pipeline of investor-ready businesses across the island.
Economy Minister Dr Caoimhe Archibald said:
“The InterTradeIreland Seedcorn Investor Readiness Competition aims to help participants develop the skills, insights, and confidence they need to successfully manage funding conversations and take their businesses to the next level. This competition offers entrants a fantastic chance to raise their profile, connect with potential investors, and compete for a share of an €800,000 prize fund.”
Speaking at the launch, Margaret Hearty, Chief Executive of InterTradeIreland, said:
“Seedcorn provides founders with a practical understanding of what investors are looking for and challenges them to refine how they present their business opportunity. The process is designed to strengthen investment readiness and help companies approach funding with greater clarity and confidence.”
The impact of the programme can be seen in the success of previous participants. ArrayPatch, overall winner of the 2025 Seedcorn competition, recently closed a €1.5 million funding round following its participation in the Seedcorn programme.
Waleed Faisal, Founder of ArrayPatch, said:
“Following our win at Seedcorn, we successfully closed our first €1.5 million funding round. The Seedcorn programme was highly impactful in supporting this quick close. We are very grateful for the exposure, credibility, and momentum it helped generate.”
Applications for the 2026 competition are now open to innovative businesses across all sectors. Participants will gain access to investor-led feedback, structured support and the opportunity to pitch at regional and all-island finals later this year. The deadline for entries is Friday 24th April at 1pm.
For an overview of the competition, details of the key benefits as well as hints and tips and ways to improve your application, you can sign up for free Seedcorn information workshops at https://intertradeireland.com/funding/seedcorn/events. For further details on eligibility criteria and key dates go to https://intertradeireland.com/funding/seedcorn.