Business

Belfast property magnate McKillen joins The Edge on new entrepreneurs' body

Pictured after the inaugural meeting of the founding board of directors of Endeavour are (from left) board chair The Edge and board members Elaine Coughlan, Anne Heraty and Mark Roden. Photo: Julien Behal Photography
Pictured after the inaugural meeting of the founding board of directors of Endeavour are (from left) board chair The Edge and board members Elaine Coughlan, Anne Heraty and Mark Roden. Photo: Julien Behal Photography Pictured after the inaugural meeting of the founding board of directors of Endeavour are (from left) board chair The Edge and board members Elaine Coughlan, Anne Heraty and Mark Roden. Photo: Julien Behal Photography

BELFAST property developer Paddy McKillen is among a number of high-profile backers behind a new body to support entrepreneurs in Ireland.

Endeavor, a global not-for-profit organisation that connects high-impact entrepreneurs with talent, capital and a worldwide peer and mentor network, confirmed it plans to open a Dublin office in November.

The body - whose other principals include telecoms tycoon Denis O'Brien, Anne Heraty from CPL Recruitment and superstar group U2 - will select between four and six Irish businesses or entrepreneurs each year who will take part in its programme.

Endeavor was set up in 1997 in the US by Linda Rottenberg and Peter Keller, and its Ireland operation (its fifth in Europe) will initially be self-funded by locally-based directors.

To date Endeavor has helped 1,930 entrepreneurs build more than 1,200 companies across 35 markets, generating combined revenues of $20 billion and creating three million jobs.

The new Irish board will be chaired by U2 guitarist The Edge, who said: “Ireland is a country steeped in entrepreneurial and creative energy and talent, and in these increasingly uncertain times, it’s vital important that home grown enterprise is supported to advance to the next level in terms of scale, impact and sustainability.

“Discussing it with the band, we all felt the Endeavor model was the best fit to deliver for Ireland. I’m looking forward to working with its committed and talented board of directors, all of of whom have shown incredible generosity, to help some of our most talented entrepreneurs – north, south, urban and rural - to reach their fullest potential.”

Endeavor and Enterprise Ireland board member Elaine Coughlan of Atlantic Bridge said that from her perspective, anything that improves access to a global world is a positive.

“Starting a business is hard, but scaling a business on a global level is even more challenging and unfortunately, many businesses fall at this hurdle and, in many instances, choose instead to sell to a larger organisation who already has a global footprint.

“Endeavor offers a unique proposition in that it will carefully select the people and projects with the best potential to scale, and carefully guide them throughout that process, providing them with mentoring and access to capital and markets.

“The success of these businesses in turn will have a significant knock on effect for the wider Irish economy and contribute to Ireland’s long-term economic growth.”