Messaging services provider Cadoo has announced a €250,000 investment in its new free messaging app.
Cadoo said the new funding will lead to the creation of 20 new jobs over the next two years.
The company has received a €250,000 from the founders of IT services company, Paradyn, along with a grant from Enterprise Ireland.
The app is aimed mainly at schools and universities with 4,000 active users currently signed up to the Cadoo platform following a successful pilot programme.
It enables educational institutions to send unlimited free messages such as school closure alerts, notification of events, and appointment reminders to an unlimited number of contacts.
Cadoo is aiming its app will reach one million users by the end of 2020, including 700,000 internationally.
To realise its global growth targets, the company plan to open a UK office later this year.
Mike Basile, product director, Cadoo, said that the company has ambitious growth plans.
These include opening an office in the UK later this year, the app reaching one million users by 2020, not just in Ireland but in overseas markets, such as the US, the UK and Australia.
Cillian McCarthy, the CEO of Paradyn, said there is huge potential for the app, not just in Ireland but globally.
"The pilot programme has shown that the user-friendly platform saves schools and colleges both time and money managing phone messaging. We expect strong uptake from the educational sector worldwide," he added.
