On 3 December, the Irish Regional Enterprise Development Fund published the second round and final results of its call for funding to support innovation and build a fair and sustainable regional strength, including amongst the beneficiaries the BIOrescue partner Monaghan Mushrooms.

The fund will distribute over 29 million euros to the 21 successful candidates among 77 applicants, of which more than five million euro will be addressed to Monaghan Mushrooms for its two projects “Bioconnect Innovation Centre CLG” and “Focused Engineering Network DAC”.

The Bioconnect Innovation Centre will work with food producers in the region, and in particular with Monaghan Mushrooms, to foster the development of sustainable practices and products in the food sector. This project will support the performance of regional companies in the implementation cutting edge biotechnology research through the provision of office, laboratory, and biotechnology focused research resources for all stages of business development. In parallel, the Focused Engineering Network will create a cluster of companies and local stakeholders to safeguard and further develop the engineering sector in the region with initial focus in view of identifying upcoming supply chain opportunities to drive business growth.

“The projects we are funding today are at the cutting edge of innovation”, said the Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation, Heather Humphreysare, “I am confident that they have the potential to make a real and lasting impact on enterprise development at both regional and national level.”

Monaghan Mushrooms has always been a pioneer in the region regarding the use of biotechnology in the food sector. The funding from the Irish enterprise development fund will be the opportunity for the company to expand his team and support its progress towards the development of sustainable food value chains. With the creation of 150 new jobs expected in the biotechnology sector, Monaghan is hoping to retain graduates in the region and become the innovative Food Valley of Ireland.

If you are looking for more information on the activities of Monaghan Mushrooms in the biotech sector, do not hesitate to visit the newly launched website of Monaghan Biosciences at www.monaghanbio.com.