The first of these networking sessions, organised by TechIreland and Startacus, was held at SaaStock in Dublin last month.
A series of cross-border networking events is set to boost collaboration between tech start-ups in Ireland and Northern Ireland.
Organised by TechIreland and Startacus, both of which promote start-ups across the island, the networking events follow a recent report by the Economic and Social Research Institute that highlighted the low level of tech services between the two countries.
Startacus co-founder Alastair Cameron told SiliconRepublic.com that while the tech sectors in both Ireland and Northern Ireland are “vibrant and dynamic”, they operate as separate entities with “only a few dedicated opportunities for cross-border connections”.
“It has certainly been a missed opportunity for many businesses on both sides of the border. That, combined with the opportunity for more cross-border collaboration to occur within the service sector, has led us to developing this exciting collaborative project with TechIreland.”
The first event in the series, called Innovation Island Connect, took place recently at the SaaStock conference in Dublin focusing on enterprise software businesses that offer SaaS. Subsequent events are set to focus on other tech sectors and take place in both countries.
“We feel there is great potential for both the tech sector and service sector in both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland to develop new links and commercial partnerships and ultimately grow their businesses as a result,” said Cameron, who co-founded Startacus in 2013.
Kicked off by Teamwork’s Peter Coppinger, the session was organised with support from InterTradeIreland’s Synergy initiative, which aims to scale cross-border collaboration among SMEs, universities and government agencies using cluster and networking supports.
Just last month, InterTradeIreland funded a collaboration between TechIreland and Startacus to ‘open doors’ to new cross-border opportunities through a portal.
“[The first event] showed that there is a real enthusiasm from both sides of the border to come together and make new relevant connections. The feedback from all those who attended was so positive and we’re hopeful that it will have opened doors to plenty of new opportunities on the island,” Cameron added.
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