20 Northern Ireland start-ups selected to fuel success through Propel Pre-Accelerator programme

IgniteNI has today revealed the 20 start-ups that will be participating in the renowned 2021 Propel Pre-Accelerator programme which kicks off this week. Supported by Invest Northern Ireland, Propel is designed to help early-stage entrepreneurs who use innovative and disruptive technologies to build their business and achieve international success.

This year’s programme saw unprecedented levels of interest with 897 startups coming through the recruitment process, putting demand for Propel 2021 on par with some of the most sought after programmes in the world. The announcement marks promising news for the start-up scene in Northern Ireland.

Based out of the Ormeau Baths in Belfast, IgniteNI supports 30 companies each year through the prestigious Propel Pre-accelerator and Accelerator programmes, which are aimed at building global technology companies through mentorship, investor access, advice and support. As part of the six-month programme, Propel participants receive £15,000 in equity-free funding from InvestNI, weekly workshops and access to a global network of mentors and investors, 12 months of office space at the Ormeau Baths, and £250,000 in credits from partners to support their business.

With record-breaking levels of interest and a high calibre of startups, the selection process was extremely competitive. Among the businesses taking part in this year’s programme are Vikela Armour, a next-generation ballistic body armour business; and BeLeased, a data-driven tenant-finding platform (please see the full list of businesses below).

After four years in Northern Ireland, Ignite has been behind many of the start-up success stories emerging from the region. Former Propel participant Phil McElnay, CEO of MedAll, raised funding for his start-up from European venture capital fund SeedCamp; while teams such as Material Evolution and Enginius have both progressed to participate in the highly-renowned US-based Techstars accelerator programme.

Research from Enterprise Northern Ireland reveals that two-thirds of start-ups in Northern Ireland are exporting beyond the region. IgniteNI is hoping to boost these figures and enhance the region’s reputation for producing the world’s most successful early-stage companies. IgniteNI hopes the Propel Pre-Accelerator programme for 2021 will help to further establish Northern Ireland as a hive of technological entrepreneurship during challenging times.

Commenting on the quality of applicants and companies chosen for this year’s Propel Pre-Accelerator Programme, Chris McClelland, Programme Director of Ignite NI, said: “The record-breaking number of applications to the 2021 Propel Pre-Accelerator speaks volumes about Northern Ireland’s rapidly-growing entrepreneurial community. The quality and quantity of the applicants have been incredible, making it extremely challenging for us to select the top 20 early-stage businesses for this year’s cohort.

“For a region of this size, the high level of interest in Propel 2021 inspires great confidence for the future of entrepreneurship in Northern Ireland. We’re excited to see what’s in store for the start-ups over the next six months, and we hope to share lots of good news stories from the 2021 cohort as the programme progresses.”

Stephen Wightman, Director of Technology Solutions at Invest NI, added:

“While the Covid-19 pandemic has been a challenge for all of us, it has put things into perspective for many who have been inspired to pivot their careers or finally get the ball rolling with that business idea that they always wanted to pursue. At Invest NI, we are eager to nurture those business ideas and are working more closely than ever with IgniteNI to make Northern Ireland the best place to start a business.”