Irish-based software firm Fenergo lands €4m funding

Irish-based software company Fenergo is set to double it staff in the coming months after it landed investment of €4 million to expand its operations overseas.

The company, which currently employs about 55 people in Ireland, will add 50 jobs in Dublin in the next four months and, according to chief executive Marc Murphy, expects to employ 150 by the end of March.

High tech jobs
The new jobs will be high tech, high quality positions, with Fenergo seeking software engineers, business analysts and project managers in the financial technology space.

The Dublin office currently serves all the company’s European clients.

The funding, which was led by Investec Ventures through the Ulster Bank Diageo Venture Fund, will allow Fenergo to grow its business in overseas markets in the coming months.

The company, which specialises in enabling financial institutions to meet regulatory compliance and data requirements when taking on new clients, is turning its attention to the North American market in the coming months, before moving into Asia Pacific in June next year.

“We want to be prudent and prove the approach and the methodology,” said Mr Murphy. “We have our work cut out over the next few weeks and months.”

As part of its expansion, the company will open two offices in the US – a delivery centre in Boston and a North American headquarters in New York – where a further 20 staff will be based. Also on the cards is product expansion, developing the company's enterprise platform.

Prompting the move was Fenergo's success in signing four international deals in recent months, three of which have been in North America, Mr Murphy explained.

"We've wanted to do it yet haven't had the capital to do it up until now," he said. "We went to the VC market to see if they would back us."

Outside funding
It's the first time the company has sought outside funding, and is a "significant milestone" for the company, the chief executive said.

Fenergo is chaired by former Norkom chief executive Paul Kerley.