IVCA director-general Sarah-Jane Larkin said it was important to have active Irish seed funds in the local market to invest and ensure that founding teams can build companies in Ireland even during a global downturn.Venture capital investment fell sharply in the fourth quarter in Ireland as overseas investors fled the market, new data from the Irish Venture Capital Association showed, leading to a flat year overall.
A total of €1.33 billion was invested in Irish tech companies over the year, according to the IVCA VenturePulse survey, the same figure as in 2021. However, the fourth quarter saw a decline of 47 per cent to €244.6 million, a sharp decline from the same period a year earlier. Leo Hamill, chairperson of Irish Venture Capital Association, said the fall-off was a cause for concern. “Global trends were reflected in the fact that overseas VC investment in Ireland fell by 73 per cent in the fourth quarter to €58.3 million, from €214 million in the same period last year,” he said. “The flight of international capital in the fourth quarter highlights Ireland’s exposure and the need to boost local sources of funding for scaling companies.
The VenturePulse data covers equity funds raised by Irish SMEs and other SMEs headquartered on the island of Ireland, from information supplied internally by members of the IVCA and from published information from non-members.