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Eighteen companies from Dublin, Connacht, Leinster and Munster have made it through to the regional final of InterTradeIreland’s Seedcorn Investor Readiness Competition 2020.

Six of these innovative businesses will pocket €20,000, before progressing to the grand final where they will compete against regional winners from other jurisdictions for €50,000 or €100,000 as either category or overall winner.

The Seedcorn contest mirrors the real-life investment process. As well as a substantial cash prize fund, participants can secure expert feedback on their business plans and pitches, improve their investor readiness and gain exposure to investors, all while boosting their firm’s profile.

Congratulating the regional finalists, Connor Sweeney, Seedcorn Programme Manager at InterTradeIreland, said: “To get to a regional final, companies have already been shortlisted based upon their business plan submission and visual representation of their ideas, so I’m delighted to offer my congratulations to all those who have reached this crucial stage.

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“This year, the regional finals will be held remotely for the first time in Seedcorn’s history. We were determined to continue with the competition if we could find a safe way of doing so and thankfully technology has presented the opportunity. We are thrilled to be able to run the next two stages remotely; as Seedcorn is centred on showcasing business innovation, we think it’s a relevant approach.”

Dublin

In the New Start category, the Dublin regional finalists include:

ReactEmo, an online one-stop-shop for firms wanting to engage in market research with their focus groups remotely

Examfly, an interactive online learning tool to improve the speed and effectiveness of study for professional exams

Bonafi, a reg-tech firm that helps companies in the pharmaceutical industry authenticate their customers and suppliers.

The Early Stage category includes:

Xtract, an insur-tech company providing real-time vehicle crash analytics and visual reconstruction for the insurance industry

e-Seed, natural microbial treatments applied directly to seeds to increase yields and returns to growers

4Securitas, cyber security software focused on protecting critical data at the core of every organisation.

Connacht & Leinster

In the New Start category, the Connacht & Leinster regional finalists include:

Soothing Solutions in Navan, offering a range of natural products for children aged two years and over to combat sore throats and coughs

Kildare-based Hygiene Audits, infection control workflow software to improve hygiene compliance in care homes

Positive Carbon, a Roscommon company providing intelligent food waste monitoring technology to help businesses save food and money.

The Early Stage category finalists include Kildare-based Equine MediRecord, who have created a regulator approved software to replace the paper based anti-doping and horse welfare system.

The company will join Galway-based NUA Surgical, developer of a surgical retractor that tackles major unmet needs of Caesarean Section (C-Section) impacting clinicians, hospitals and patients, and FeelTect, who have developed technology to measure and monitor compression therapy, primarily for the millions of people worldwide with venous leg ulcers.

Munster

In the New Start category, the Munster regional finalists include:

Kerry-based Emerald Isle Growers, who offer sustainably produced organic produce direct to consumers, restaurants and wholesalers

Clare based Feistim, which has developed a performance application that tracks and monitors performance

PlayerStat Data, a Waterford company who has developed an online database for sport performance data output and reports.

In the Early Stage category, Cork-based PlantQuest offers a signal free location platform for complex process facilities, allowing workers to navigate a facility regardless of the availability of WiFi or GPS.

Other Early Stage finalists in this region include PixQuanta, a light sensor technology compatible with the standard materials, tools and processing already available in the manufacturing industry, and Clare-based Great Ireland Experiences, a digital platform for visitor attractions and museums which aims to transform how they communicate, engage and interact with their visitors.

The finalists will participate in an intensive investment pitch masterclass.  This will help them to refine their presentation skills before delivering a pitch to a panel of judges at the regional final next month.

The competition can be followed on Twitter (@Inter_Trade) and on the website www.intertradeireland.com/seedcorn