Podcast Ep 278: During a recent investor day at Catalyst in Belfast, ThinkBusiness spoke with some of the most promising young start-ups that capture the city’s innovative momentum.
A new wave of innovation is emerging from Northern Ireland, as Belfast’s start-up ecosystem gains traction through Catalyst’s INVENT programme, a long-running initiative backed by corporate sponsors including Bank of Ireland.
During a recent investor day hosted at Catalyst’s Titanic Quarter campus, founders and stakeholders highlighted the region’s growing entrepreneurial capacity, particularly in health, sustainability, and education technology.
“The Northern Ireland economy is in safe hands when you see these ideas continually evolving”
Catalyst, a not-for-profit organisation founded in 1999 as part of the Good Friday Agreement peace initiative, has evolved into a central hub for innovation.
“We created the site here in Titanic Quarter to help entrepreneurs and innovators grow and scale,” said Joe Wilson, Partner Relationships Manager at Catalyst. “Every bit of surplus funding we make gets pumped back into support programmes which help encourage innovation and entrepreneurship in Northern Ireland.”
A Catalyst for change
Catalyst currently supports more than 900 entrepreneurs across its programmes, with 2,700 tech professionals working between Derry and Belfast. An independent assessment by Capaxo and economist Maureen O’Reilly found that for every £1 invested through Catalyst’s programmes, £41 was returned to the economy between 2017 and 2021.
Bank of Ireland has played a key role in supporting the INVENT programme. “We look at the INVENT programme and it brings our purpose to life,” said Paul McClurg, head of Belfast Business Banking at Bank of Ireland. “If we can help bring these firms products to market, that then brings employment and jobs and helps grow the economy.”
Colin Crangle, Business Engagement manager with Bank of Ireland in Belfast, noted the programme’s evolution. “Initially, many participants were university spinouts. Over time, we’ve extended our reach to people who felt furthest away from opportunity. We show them they can be innovators and entrepreneurs too.”
Among the start-ups featured on the ThinkBusiness Podcast were several ventures tackling complex challenges, including:
- Dia Beta Labs, a biotech spinout from Ulster University, is developing peptide-based therapies for obesity and type 2 diabetes. Its lead candidate, DBL002, is in late-stage preclinical development. The company won the 2024 INVENT Awards and secured £1.2 million in seed funding from DSW Ventures, QUBIS, and Innovate UK.
- Carbon Fit, founded by Stephen Dunn and Brian Ward, offers carbon accounting and reduction software to help businesses automate compliance and track decarbonisation progress.
- Circular Data Solutions, led by Eoin Lambkin, focuses on sustainable data lifecycle management, including end-of-life data storage devices.
- MemoryTell, founded by Corrina Grimes, uses speech analysis to diagnose and monitor dementia through a digital biomarker platform.
- NuPitch, led by Christian Kotey, provides an AI-powered mobile app for filmmakers to create pitch decks with tools for script analysis, budgeting, and multimedia integration.
- Equipple, developed by brothers Ryan and Stuart Henry, aims to streamline parent-teacher meetings through a dedicated app.
- RegenTechnologies, led by Dr Haresh Manyar of Queen’s University Belfast, is developing catalysts and chemical processes to generate energy from carbon dioxide.
Crangle highlighted the diversity of ideas emerging from the programme. “There’s education, medical innovations, and product-based businesses. Every year the quality improves. The Northern Ireland economy is in safe hands when you see these ideas continually evolving.”
Wilson added that Catalyst’s mission has expanded to include those furthest from opportunity.
“Our newer programmes, like Strive, work with youth groups to provide work experience for 18 to 25-year-olds who may have dropped out of school or faced challenges in life. We want to give that leg up to those who wouldn’t usually access support for entrepreneurship.”
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