The state-funded National Digital Research Centre has been mining the seams of digital startups outside Dublin after extending its reach beyond the capital.

The investment agency teamed up with Enterprise Ireland and Galway City Innovation District in 2017 to run an accelerator programme in the PorterShed in Eyre Square, which supported 22 companies in three outings since. The NDRC also runs an accelerator in ArcLabs at Waterford IT, the first iteration of which was completed in 2018.

The recently completed Portershed accelerator accommodated seven fledgling startups. The programme culminated in an investor pitch competition, which was won by DigiTally, earning the Galway venture €30,000 in follow-on investment.

Founded by Patrick McDermott and Artur Leonowicz, DigiTally has developed a counting and analytics reporting tool to help multi-site food businesses manage their inventory.

DigiTally doesn’t fit the stereotypical idea of a software startup launched by college kids. McDermott (42) also owns Stocktaking.ie, which was founded in 2004 and provides outsourced stocktaking services to companies such as Musgrave and Elverys.

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Other participants in the most recent NDRC PorterShed accelerator included Westmeath fintech startup Fincovi, which provides back-office services to manage the financial performance of renewable energy assets.

Sligo-based Frankli also completed the accelerator to tweak its employee engagement SaaS solution, as did Dublin company Empeal, which is behind the ‘Wind of Change’ employee wellness programme brand.

The other participants on the PorterShed accelerator initiative were traveltech startup TripAdmit, and Content Llama, which helps retailers simplify the process of uploading product specifications into e-commerce platforms. Galway company Trustfy completed the cohort; it helps companies to translate technical business ideas into clear software specifications.

Previous winners of the PorterShed investor showcases were Appraisee, which provides software for car dealerships, and PlanDomino, which has developed laboratory scheduling software.

Photo: DigiTally founders Patrick McDermott (left) and Artur Leonowicz. (Pic: Andrew Downes/Xposure)