JUST eight businesses from the north have made it on to this year’s Deloitte Technology Fast 50.
The programme, which ranks the 50 fastest-growing tech firms on the island of Ireland, had featured 11 Northern Ireland companies in 2020, a dozen in 2019, 13 in 2018 and 15 firms in 2017.
But no Northern Ireland firm managed to make it into the top 10 in 2021.
The list is typically a who’s who of the best performing Irish tech companies, with the likes of First Derivatives and Learning Pool among past award winners.
Belfast-based emissions data firm Catagen had ranked at number two and four on the list in previous two years.
Belfast-based SciLeads was the only northern company to make into the top 20 in 2021. The firm, which has developed a market intelligence platform, ranked at 11 in its debut appearance on the prestigious list.
Derry’s Food Connected (23) and Belfast’s Datactics (25), were the only other Northern Irish tech entrants in the top half of the table.
Dublin company LetsGetChecked, which gives people the tools to manage their health from home by providing direct access to health insights, at-home diagnostics, virtual care, and pharmacy for a wide range of health conditions, took the top spot with a growth rate of 18,663 per cent over the last four years.
Totalmobile (31), Instil Software (34), AquaQ Analytics (36), PlotBox (43), and Decision Time (45), were among the other NI entrants.
Learning Pool was this year presented with the programme’s Alumni Award, which acknowledges a company that has played a major role in the Fast 50 programme. The Derry-based education software provider has featured 10 times in the Fast 50 since the awards began.
Aisléan Nicholson, Deloitte’s Belfast-based partner for the Fast 50 said: “All of the companies who made the list this year have shown creativity, resilience, and commitment to driving progress in the local technology sector, which is crucial to the future of Northern Ireland’s economy.
“It is also encouraging to see so many new entrants to the ranking – with a strong cohort of younger companies, the future of the sector looks bright. We are thrilled to showcase their achievements and wish them continued success over the coming years.”
