.svg)
Thrive, the Belfast-based provider of employee communications software and support, has secured strategic investment to help facilitate its plans to grow users fourfold to one million by 2022.
The company is also initially creating 10 new jobs in marketing, software development, and customer care.
Thrive provides software and support to make employee communications easy and cost-effective. Its client-base includes councils, healthcare companies, manufacturing businesses, food firms, retailers and other organisations across the UK, Ireland and internationally.
The new investment, which comes from the Halo Business Angel Network (HBAN), Co-Fund II and private investors, is being used for product development and international sales. It brings investment by shareholders in the business to over £2.75million.
HBAN is a joint initiative of Enterprise Ireland, InterTradeIreland and Invest Northern Ireland, dedicated to the all-island promotion of business angel investment. Co-Fund II is supported by ERDF under the EU Investment for Growth and Jobs Programme 2014-2020 and is managed by Clarendon Fund Managers.
Thrive, which recently hit 250,000 licenced users, has won a series of major new clients this year, including US media corporation HBO; Santos Brasil, the largest port operator in Latin America; Fairchild Medical Center in California; and Antrim & Newtownabbey Borough Council.
The company’s platform, which allows organisations to create beautifully designed native iPhone and Android apps as well as responsive web apps, is particularly relevant for businesses with employees who are not desk-based. This is something that has attracted well-known names such as Carlsberg, An Post, and Air France KLM as long-standing customers.
Thrive’s Managing Director, James Scott, said:
“We are seeing organisations all over the world waking up to the strong business benefits of good employee comms. With the vast majority of people now carrying a smartphone, it makes an app the perfect way to connect with employees. We’ve designed the Thrive platform to be so easy to use that organisations can be up and running and improving the way they communicate and share information with employees in no time.”
Scott continued:
“Our clients are using the Thrive platform to provide employees with information they need to do their job, and engage them more fully in the organisation. Companies are seeing direct tangible benefits from using the Thrive platform including happier team-members, reduced absenteeism, increased productivity and better customer service,” he added.
Stephen Gunning, Thrive’s Co-Founder and Chairman, said:
“This investment means we can now activate a five-year growth plan, supported by ongoing assistance from Invest NI, which will see us expand our UK, Ireland and international customer-base, grow our team as well as further developing our Thrive software platform and services. The investment we have secured will allow us to compete even more strongly in this fast-growing international market.”
About Halo Business Angel Network (HBAN)
HBAN is a joint initiative of Enterprise Ireland, InterTradeIreland and Invest Northern Ireland, dedicated to the all-island promotion of business angel investment. The HBAN umbrella group supports the early stage entrepreneurial community across the island of Ireland and actively works to increase the number of angel investors investing in early stage companies. The all-island umbrella group works on a regional basis to support the formation of new angel networks and works with existing angel networks to develop their capability and capacity, and across a range of industry sectors. HBAN also acts as a voice to Government, stakeholders, business and the media to promote the interests and needs of the wider angel investment community. HBAN is managed by Dublin BIC in partnership with the regional Irish BICs in Cork, Galway & Waterford and with Clarendon Fund Managers in Northern Ireland.
About Invest Northern Ireland
As the regional business development agency, Invest Northern Ireland’s role is to grow the local economy. The agency does this by helping new and existing businesses to compete internationally, and by attracting new investment to Northern Ireland. Invest NI is part of the Department for the Economy and provides strong government support for business by effectively delivering the Government’s economic development strategies.
About InterTradeIreland
InterTradeIreland is the only organisation which has been given responsibility by both governments to boost North South economic co-operation to the mutual benefit of Northern Ireland and Ireland. InterTradeIreland is a powerful resource for business growth, helping SMEs through a strong mix of funding, innovation supports and meaningful contacts.
About Enterprise Ireland
Enterprise Ireland is the Irish government organisation responsible for the development and growth of Irish enterprises in world markets. The organisation works in partnership with Irish enterprises to help them start, grow, innovate and win export sales in global markets. In this way, Enterprise Ireland supports sustainable economic growth and regional development, and help create and sustain employment in Ireland.
Related articles found below:
