STIMULATING AND SUPPORTING NEW BUSINESS IN IRELAND

Sligo Company Clinches SEEDCORN Regional Winner Prize

By Joan Fahey, November 16, 2009

Co Sligo company GroupNos Technologies is guaranteed to walk away from InterTradeIreland’s Seedcorn Competition with at least €25,000, having triumphed in the Connacht and Leinster regional finals stage of the competition to take the prize for Best Emerging Company.

The company, which develops software for the healthcare industry, will now go forward to the all-island finals in Dublin on November 26 where they are in with a chance to scoop one of two overall top prizes of €100,000. Based in the Business Innovation Centre, IT Sligo, GroupNos Technologies started out working with business incubation programme CEIM, which is offered by IT Sligo and Letterkenny IT and which is managed by WESTBIC. CEIM provides mentoring and support to early stage companies (www.CEIM.ie).

The company now develops two medical software systems, both of which are marketed in the UK, Europe, Australia and North America. The first, GroupNos Collaborate EHR (Electronic Health Record), is system that facilitates collaboration between clinicians, patients and healthcare managers in a manner that supports superior patient outcomes. It is designed to directly to address areas of waste and overspending in the health industry. The second, GroupNos Community Platform, is a social software framework for clinical communities, providing a solution to key issues with Behavioural Healthcare organisations.

Chief Technology Officer Enda Madden said: “We are really delighted to have won this regional final of the competition and look forward to taking part in the next stage. “The competition entry process of writing the business plan, supported by WESTBIC, was very useful for us and winning this stage has been a great validation for our business model and our potential in the overseas market.”

Liam Nellis, chief executive of InterTradeIreland, the all-island business development body which runs Seedcorn, commented: “GroupNos Technologies is a very worthy regional winner and is a good example of how hard work and innovation quickly pays off when establishing and growing a new company.

“Together with all the other regional winners, GroupNos Technologies will now have access to some of Ireland’s top investment experts who will advise them on how best to develop their business in the current economic climate and accelerate growth in preparation for the upturn.” Acting Operations Manager Grainne Lennon said: "The InterTradeIreland all-island Seedcorn business competition recognises companies, no matter how small or young, with the best ideas and potential for commercial success across the island. Kinometrics are a shining example in this regard.”

GroupNos Technologies will join Wicklow-based Kinometrics Limited, who won the title for Best High Growth Company in the same regional final, and six other regional winners from Dublin, Munster and Northern Ireland to vie for the all-island titles.

Further information from InterTradeIreland Communications Manager Rachael Downing on +44 28 3083 4161 or Jonny Ireland of DCP PR on +44 28 9040 2296

Caption for photograph: Brendan Madden and Enda Madden of GroupNos Technologies, Connacht & Leinster Emerging Winner