Canadian investment firm Clearco is to invest €100m in Irish ecommerce start-ups, while also establishing an international sales hub in Dublin.
Clearco specialises in equity-free investments and instead takes a share of a company's revenue as part of its funding deal.
Founded in 2015 and led by Michele Romanow from Canada’s version of Dragon’s Den, it has so far invested $3.2 billion in 7,000 brands globally.
Its expansion in Ireland will see it create an international sales hub in Dublin, with 125 jobs being created in the process.
That will bring Clearco’s employee numbers here to 200.
Clearco said Ireland’s status as a tech hub, as well as its current level of economic growth, made it ripe for an ecommerce start-up boom.
"Ireland has one of Europe’s strongest economies and a dynamic start-up sector," said Clearco CEO Michele Romanow. "We are confident that we will have a meaningful impact on the Irish e-commerce economy," she said.
"We’re impressed by the talent and tech skills here and I look forward to building the team to serve our growing customer base," she added.
Clearco uses a custom algorithm to assess a potential investment, which it claims helps it to back firms that would be over-looked by traditional investment approaches.
It says it has had particular success in backing female-led firms, with half of the companies currently in its portfolio led by women.
Clearco says its approach also helps to eliminate any geographical bias, with 70% of its UK investments being made outside of London.
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"The arrival of Clearco, a leader in revenue based funding, is a great addition to the vibrant international financial services sector in Ireland," said IDA Ireland CEO Martin Shanahan.
"Ireland is an ideal location from which the company can grow and expand its products and services in Europe and new markets," he added.
