28 March 2024
By Elaine Murphy
elaine@TheCork.ie
BIC stands for Business Innovation Centre. It’s a private sector organisation.
CorkBIC, who have been driving innovation and fostering the growth of
start-ups in the South West for 35 years, have launched a new name and
brand as they expand the footprint of their service offering.
Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment Simon Coveney T.D.
officially unveiled the new name, AxisBIC, at an event in Cork City
recently.
Under the new brand they will expand to offer their services to
start-ups in Limerick and Clare, leveraging the extensive startup
infrastructure that already exists in the Mid-West.
AxisBIC is one of four Irish BICs funded by Enterprise Ireland to grow
and support innovative startups who have high growth potential and can
contribute to economic development in their areas.
A team of in-house experts help each entrepreneur to develop a
well-tested business plan, raise investment, manage business
propositions, and arrange agreements with shareholders and investors.
The organisation has an extensive network of partners including local
authorities, universities, investors, business bodies and seasoned
entrepreneurs across Ireland and internationally.
CorkBIC have worked with hundreds of innovative startups across the
South and Mid-West region including Crest Solutions, Workvivo,
Poppulo, Abtran, Green Saffron, AventaMed, among others.
Minister Coveney said: “CorkBIC, now known as AxisBIC, has been a
well-known brand for many years, providing an invaluable service to
entrepreneurs across a range of sectors. This expansion is a great
reflection of AxisBIC’s commitment and dedication to its clients and
their development and I support the endeavours of AxisBIC as they help
to develop innovative entrepreneurs across the South and Mid-West
region.”
Larry O’Donoghue, CEO of AxisBIC said; “We have been working with
innovative entrepreneurs and providing support and essential business
expertise to hundreds of start-ups in Cork and Kerry over the last 35
years. We are excited to develop and grow these collaborations with
entrepreneurs in Clare and Limerick. I would like to recognise all
the support that we’ve received from our partners, many of whom are at
this event today, as we launch the next phase of our journey as
CorkBIC becomes AxisBIC.”
CorkBIC have launched a new name, AxisBIC, as they expand the footprint of their service offering. Pictured at the unveiling are Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment Simon Coveney T.D.; Larry O’Donoghue, CEO, AxisBIC; Peaches Kemp, itsa and AxisBIC board member; Martin Corkery, Enterprise Ireland and Madeline Murray, Change by Degrees.
Pic: John Allent
Frank Madden, Founder and Director of Crest Solutions said; “CorkBIC
offered invaluable support to Crest Solutions (now Catalyx) and
enabled us to create a great business from our vision. Starting a new
business can be an extremely daunting experience but the team at
CorkBIC helped us to navigate the many challenges we faced and were a
huge part of our success. I would highly recommend any start-up or
entrepreneur to contact them for advice and assistance. I would like
to congratulate them on their new name and brand and I wish them every
success for the future.”