A 1-gigabit digital hub for start-ups has officially opened in Skibbereen in Co Cork.
The Ludgate Hub, which originally served as the local cinema from 1941 – 1981 and then a bakery, has been transformed into a 10,000 sq ft digital hub, which is the first of its kind in a non-urban area in Ireland.
It is part of an initiative to create an entrepreneurial ecosystem in the West Cork region and aims to create 500 jobs in five years, with an initial 75 jobs during the start-up phase.
Developed over the past 18 months it is the collaboration of locals and several well known business people all with West Cork links.
Among them Sean O'Driscoll, President of Glen Dimplex, Ann O'Leary, CEO of Vodafone, Dee Forbes, former head of Discovery Channels Europe and now Director General of RTÉ, film maker David Puttman, and Ronan Harris of Google Ireland.
The Internet-based businesses who have already moved in say it has transformed their working and home lives.
Supporters of the project say it will lead to 500 jobs in the area and will keep people living in rural West Cork.
Ludgate was officially opened by the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Mary Mitchell O'Connor.
.@mitchelloconnor opens @LudgateIreland in Skibbereen - Kickstarting a new digital age for West Cork pic.twitter.com/7ZmZPDGtV7
— DJEI (@JobsEnterInnov) July 29, 2016
30 people are already working from the premises, which boasts ultra-fast 1-gigabit broadband – a unique selling point of the operation.
The broadband infrastructure is three times as powerful as the market leading service in Dublin.
The board secured €1m in investment to kickstart the project and create a digital blueprint for the town of Skibbereen.
To stimulate international and national scalable start-ups, a €300,000 seed fund was launched in May and the hub will now welcome the first teams of successful applicants to the fund in the coming few months.
