Allister queries North Antrim investment strategy

Mr Allister explained, “Invest NI presently has two equity funds to support start-up businesses: Since 2009 the Northern Ireland Spin Out (NISPO) initiatives support start-up and early stage businesses in Northern Ireland. The support includes a £5 million venture capital fund, the Invest Growth Fund, which focuses on seed and early stage businesses with high growth potential and a £3 million proof of concept fund, the Invest Growth Proof of Concept Fund, which is funded by Invest NI to provide funding to very early, non-university projects. The second fund, available since last year, is Co-Fund NI which is available to qualifying businesses where co-investment is required alongside business angel investment and other private investment.

“Having previously expressed concern about whether North Antrim was getting equal treatment from Invest NI, after establishing there had only been 2 visits to the constituency in 5 years by foreign companies looking to invest in Northern Ireland, I recently asked the DETI Minister to set out the take up, on a constituency basis, of the Access to Finance Strategy.

“Start-up businesses in North Antrim have attracted only £43,000 of support out of the £7.5million distributed (substantially less than 1 per cent), with nothing at all from the Co-Fund. The Belfast-centric nature of the drawdown is illustrated by the fact that well over half the funds have gone there, with East Belfast the most favoured.

“While I accept that businesses must apply to succeed in securing funding – and I encourage them to do so - I find it difficult to accept that an area with such business acumen as North Antrim is not producing projects suitable for support. I have, therefore, challenged the DETI Minister in a further Assembly Question as to whether there is parity of opportunity across Northern Ireland on access to these funds, or does Invest NI think Northern Ireland’s business capabilities do not extend beyond the Greater Belfast area?”