23.02.18
The GEC , based at Taylors Lane in The Liberties, has been named as the World’s Top Business Incubator, Collaborating with University, 2018.
The award was presented to The GEC Team at the UBI Awards and Recognition Gala ceremony at the World Incubation Summit in Toronto yesterday. The GEC saw off strong competition from more than 1,300 incubators worldwide, which were assessed and benchmarked by UBI Global, the prestigious Stockholm-based research and advisory firm. The GEC was also a recipient of the award in 2016.
A key factor which earned the GEC the coveted award is its innovative University Programme, an initiative involving collaborations with 23 of the top 50 best business schools in the world. GEC works closely with top universities and institutions across the globe including Cambridge, Columbia, and HEC Paris. Closer to home, it collaborates with Trinity College Dublin and UCD Smurfit, among others.
The GEC is also recognised for its contribution in terms of hosting both business and social events for our start-ups, ranging from investor networking opportunities, hackathons and tech meet-ups, to yoga classes, golf trips, hiking and football tournaments.
Working with universities and third level institutions, not just in Ireland but globally, has been an integral part of how the GEC delivers added-value to its client companies. Going forward, it is focused on expanding the programme further to other top business universities as well as regional centres and their start-ups across Ireland.
The GEC is the largest single building enterprise centre in Ireland and there are more than 90 companies located in the start-up hub, with an additional 100 companies co-working from CoWork@GEC. More than 500 people work at Taylor’s Lane, with over 800 employed globally by start-ups based in The GEC.
The GEC is managed by Dublin BIC and speaking about the award, their CEO Michael Culligan said: “The award win is testament to the work that the GEC is doing, the networks and community that it is building up, and the successful, investor-ready start-ups that are emerging from the incubator. It cements Ireland as a globally recognised start-up hub. This is a great win for Ireland in a time of increasing competition between cities to attract high potential start-ups.”
Welcoming the accolade, Liberties Business Forum chairperson Anthony Joyce congratulated Eamonn Sayers, Manager of The GEC, and his team on a remarkable achievement: “It is very exciting to be a neighbour to the “world’s best incubator”!”
THE GEC #BestPlaceToGrow
Reported in The Irish Times 23rd February
