This article is from page 58 of the 2008-01-08 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 58 JPG
THE Western Development Com- mission’s, (WDC) investment arm, the WDC Investment Fund, invested €6.2 million in 17 projects during 2007.
Since it was set up, the investment fund has made investments totalling €27/m.
Gillian Buckley, WDC CEO, said, “The size of the WDC Investment Fund’s continuing investments 1s ev1- dence of the excellent stock of com- mercially viable projects in the west- ern region. The 2006 census shows the region has been able to attract an adaptable and educated workforce as evidenced by a population increase in line with the national average,” she said.
“There is a high demand for a fund of our kind that is the only source of venture funds specifically available
for enterprises in the western region. Through the fund we are success- fully filling the ‘funding gap’, allow- ing projects to get off the ground, erow more quickly and bring them to a stage where it is in a position to attract funding from the private sec- tor.”
WDC investment fund recipients during the past year include FMC Tech Ltd, based in Shannon, which has developed the Crystal System, which provides electrical utilities with the ability to locate, measure and predict faults on overhead me- dium-voltage power lines.