A new alternative investment fund has raised its first tranche of finance to support ‘technology for good’ companies in Ireland.

Dublin-based VentureWave Capital is organising the Impact Ireland fund, which is planning to invest between €1m and €25m each in up to 15 companies.

The fund will target cloud-based technology companies in sectors including education, healthcare, food and agriculture, energy and the environment.

VentureWave Capital is headed up by chairman Alan Foy and managing partner Kieran McLoughlin. Early backers of the fund include Adam Clayton and ‘The Edge’ from U2.

Former Taoiseach Enda Kenny  (pictured) is also chairing the fund’s global advisory council, promoting Ireland as a location for innovation and investment.

In Association with

Other members of the Impact Ireland fund advisory council include Cpl Resources co-founder and CEO Anne Heraty, and Edward Guinness, head of the Guinness family.

According to VentureWave Capital, the fund will invest in profit-driven companies that will also advance the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.

The fund is a member of Global Impact Investing Network and is the first Irish signatory of the World Bank's International Finance Corporation's Operating Principles for Impact Measurement.

“We are in active dialogue with a number of prospective pipeline investment companies and are confident of building great companies from Ireland with global scale and ambition,” said Kieran McLoughlin.

Enda Kenny added that he was pleased to chairing the fund’s advisory council. “It will be a powerful corps of advocates for developing the next generation of successful Irish businesses and accelerating the impact that they will have,” he stated.