WestBIC, the EU Quality Accredited Business and Innovation Centre for the West/North-West region of Ireland, is a specialist provider in the Irish Governments portfolio of supports to industry.  It is primarily concerned with stimulating the creation and expansion of higher potential enterprises in the region.  WestBIC is supported by Enterprise Ireland and the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation through the National Development Plan.

Established in 1987, WestBIC provides support services to value-added High Potential Start-ups and knowledge-based early stage innovative enterprise.  Through its strategically located offices, it mobilises the key enablers of Applied Innovation including market animation, incubation infrastructures to investor grade business planning and the provision of capital through the Halo Business Angel Network (HBAN).  This activity is overlaid with an open innovation model using the extensive international networks available to WestBIC and its client companies to source partners, technology, markets and a real opportunity to benchmark their product offering internationally.

Support for Enterprise Development:

• Start-Ups: A tailored service for HPSU and innovative enterprises through the initial stages from concept to commercialisation and into early growth, focusing on product development, marketing, human resources, IT and start-up finance
• Early-Stage SME’s: Providing support through a multi-skilled team and international talent pool of experts to assist new product development, access to new technologies, international markets and smart capital for expansion.

WestBIC’s financial engineering support includes the sourcing of private and public start & growth capital and access to the Halo Business Angel Network (HBAN).

WestBIC operates from six regional offices providing direct, on the ground support for entrepreneurs and enterprises in the West and North West region. Each office is staffed by experienced personnel, who have specific expertise and local knowledge relating to their respective regions. Offices are established in conjunction with local partners and intermediaries involved with enterprise support in each region.

John Brennan is Financial Controller in WESTBIC and works extensively with high growth start-ups in the areas of business development and financial modeling. He has also accumulated over fifteen years experience in the design and delivery of advanced incubation systems featuring lead models in connectivity, divisibility and overall offering to the incubatee. John is also practiced in the intricacies of managing the finances in EU funded programmesWes and financial engineering at SME level.

Kerry Quinlan is Project & Marketing Officer in WestBIC and has over 15 years experience working with start-ups. She has 12 years experience in managing the day-today operational procedures of an Incubation centre, which housed up to 33 SME’s (Small & Medium ICT Enterprises).  In the last 3 years Kerry has also been involved in International project management whereby she attended project partner meetings and managed reports and financial administration. Kerry works closely with Mary Ryan with High Potential Start-up business planning research & support. Kerry also manages the Core marketing activities for the company, including HPSU profiling, website development & social media management.

Ultan Faherty is area manager with WESTBIC in the North West region with responsibility for the provision of business planning and project development support to new high-potential start-up projects and expanding knowledge intensive businesses. In his WestBIC support activities to the Halo Business Angel Network, Ultan matches private investors with pre-screened investment opportunities in start-up, early stage and developing business across many business sectors. He also provides business support services to companies based at the CoLab incubation centre based on-campus at Letterkenny Institute of Technology. Ultan was central to the development and management of the Cross-Border BIC (CBBIC), a virtual BIC initiative between Noribic, Derry and WESTBIC in the North West region of Ireland, with a particular focus on the development of cross-border networks and clusters leading to the economic development of the North West region as a whole. Ultan also supported WESTBIC’s activities in the iFactory project, alongside Noribic in delivering bespoke innovation supports to small businesses with an aspiration to grow, compete and succeed.  Ultan is also an assistant lecturer on Letterkenny Institute of Technology’s BA in Business Administration, BA in Social and Community Enterprise and the LLLBBS Programme.

James Donlon is WESTBIC Regional Manager for the Midlands region of Ireland. James has extensive experience supporting innovative, community and social enterprises. An MBA graduate with a specialism in business sustainability through innovation, James manages the Midlands delivery team and has over ten years experience in the areas of programme management, training and mentoring. His work includes the management and delivery of local, regional and transnational international programmes in the areas of innovation, internationalization and competitiveness supports to industry. Specialist training topics include Entrepreneurship and Innovation, Clusters and Networks and Business Planning Tools for Enterprise. James has also provided graduate entrepreneurship training programs/ modules in a number of 3^rd level institutions in Ireland.