New pre-accelerator programme targets early-stage sport and wellness ideas

A new pre-accelerator programme aimed at identifying high-potential sport and wellness start-ups of the future is to begin operating in the southeast of the country.

SportX, which was announced by Resolve partners and NDRC at ArcLabs, has been specifically designed to develop opportunities in the sport and wellness industries.

The programme will run between mid-October and the end of November, and will provide participants with tools to help them: pursue opportunities; gain a better understanding of an entrepreneurial career path; access industry veterans; and help guide them to supports appropriate to their stage of development.

"ArcLabs represents a unique ecosystem of entrepreneurship, bringing together world class infrastructure, knowledge, skills and networks to assist people with interesting ideas to start and scale business opportunities and a pre-accelerator programme is the perfect place to validate those ideas and bring them to life," said Aisling O'Neill, manager at ArcLabs Research & Innovation Centre.

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The programme will be run by Resolve Partners, which includes the consulting team of David Scanlon, Dermot Casey, Angela Duffy and Alan Costello.

The team have worked together for five years in various roles working with hundreds of entrepreneurs and founders, with expertise across sectors such as technology, finance and fintech, energy and climate, medical and media education.

They will run SportX in association with the ArcLabs Research & Innovation Centre, WIT Arena and UPMC, with the programme building on significant domain expertise already located in the region.

"Building upon the successful Enterprise Ireland-supported Regional Accelerator Scheme, the investors in NDRC at Arclabs are delighted to fund a programme with the goal of finding the next generation of sportstech entrepreneurs who can leverage the amazing enterprise and sports-related supports within the southeast of Ireland, " said Gary Leyden, director of NDRC at Arclabs.

The programme is being supported by NDRC at Arclabs Fund 1 GP, which is backed by Enterprise Ireland, Suir Valley Ventures, Bank of Ireland Seed and Early Stage Equity Fund, South East BIC, Centrica Innovations, and the Local Authorities of Carlow, Kilkenny, Waterford, and Wexford.