ALMOST £34 million has been invested in companies employing over 4,400 people under the venture capital initiative set up three years ago by the Irish Association of Pension Funds (IAPF) and the Irish Association of Investment Managers (IAIM).
Under that initiative, £95 million was raised for venture capital in Irish companies, with £49 million of this coming from the pension sector.
In addition to the £34 million raised to date, the latest progress report from the IAPF and the IAIM shows that firm offers for a further £18 million are currently outstanding.
The vast bulk of the venture capital commitments have been channelled through the three main venture capital providers, ACT, ICC and Delta. But a number of individual investment houses including Standard Life, Friends Provident, Scottish Provident and New Ireland have also made direct venture capital investments.
The progress report shows that the three main providers evaluated a total 547 proposals and have invested £34 million in 23 companies employing over 4,400 people.
The IAPF chairman, Mr Brian Aylward, said: "The level of investment is building up and on target, in line with the commitment by pension funds to the Minister for Finance.
