TenderScout has raised €1m from private and angel investors. The  company  operates an online platform that helps SMEs win public tenders by simplifying the process.

Founded by Tony Corrigan (pictured), TenderScout is aiming to create 15 new jobs in the next two years as it gears up for European and US expansion.

The TenderScout platform translates complex public procurement data into clear, comparable and useful information. It can also tell companies what their chances are of winning a contract before they go through the sometimes expensive process of applying for it.

Investors in TenderScout’s fundraiser include Growing Capital and the European Angels Fund. Enterprise Ireland previously invested €300,000 into the business. The company was an eir Spider award winner in 2016.

TenderScout already has a partnership with a bid consultancy organisation in Denmark, Fortem, supporting SMEs on public sector tenders.

In Association with

Filed accounts for TenderScout in the year to April 2017 disclose accumulated losses of €138,000 and a debtor book worth €4,000.

“Around 90% of SMEs don’t participate at all in public tendering because they lack the expertise to compete and decide it’s too hard or time consuming, and generally inaccessible to small business,” said Corrigan.

The public procurement budget in Ireland is estimated to be worth €9bn per annum, but only 10% of Irish SMEs compete for tenders. Around 100 companies currently use the TenderScout platform, paying annual subscriptions of between €12,000 and €50,000 depending on which of the three access packages is chosen.