BUSINESS
Dublin to collaborate with Baltimore
12-03-2008
by Ciara O'Brien
Irish technology firms are being given a chance to compete in the world market with an agreement between technology incubators in Dublin and Baltimore in the US.
The Dublin Business Innovation Centre's (DBIC) incubator -- the Guinness Enterprise Centre (GEC) -- and the Emerging Technology Centers (ETC) in Baltimore, Maryland, signed the agreement on Wednesday. The ETC is Baltimore City's technology incubator, and both groups will collaborate in encouraging tech firms from each country to open offices in each other's business incubation centre.
As part of the agreement, each of the centres will provide advice and support to the companies that take up the offer of space in the centres. Local advisory committees of experienced businesspeople will be created for each company participant, with the aim of providing relevant business advice and valuable industry contacts to firms in order to help them succeed in new markets. There may also be funding assistance offered to companies.
"There is no such thing as an Irish or British market any more, it's all a global market," said John McInerney, DBIC, speaking to ENN.
Baltimore was chosen as a gateway into Maryland and beyond after the governor of Baltimore attended a Dublin Chambers of Commerce event in October last year. "We agreed there would be joint co-operation between Maryland and ourselves," said McInerney. "It was the ideal opportunity to link the two incubation centres and promote them."
DBIC's links to other European BICs will also serve as an attraction to US companies, added McInerney.
The move is intended to boost trade between Baltimore and Dublin and to create jobs in the two cities. In the short term, the DBIC is hoping to get one or two companies to take up space in Baltimore and serve as a successful example to others. In the next year or two, they hope to increase that to up to 10 firms.
"This collaboration will assist new and existing technology firms to expand internationally in physical space which can accommodate their unique needs, while receiving the business mentoring, technical and networking services that traditionally have been provided by DBIC and ETC," said ETC president Ann Lansinger in a statement. "These tools and resources are essential to helping these companies grow."
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