EXCLUSIVE: New digital hub to be developed in Cavan Town

Plans are advancing to develop a 'Digital Hub’ in Cavan Town with a view to nurturing tech-based start-ups, providing supports for existing businesses in the county and ultimately creating jobs as establishing Cavan as a leading location in this field.
The Anglo-Celt understands that a deal to secure a location for the digital hub is nearing conclusion with some sources suggesting that the Cavan Further Education and Training campus (former army barracks) on the Dublin Road is among the contenders.
Aimed at promoting job creation and innovation, the proposed hub is a major factor in the county’s 'Digital Strategy’, of which Cavan County Council and Cavan and Monaghan Education and Training Board are key stakeholders.
This newspaper understands that substantive groundwork has already been done, with entrepreneurs and digital ambassadors with connections to the region, all sounded out for their input.
From 'Get Connected’ networking events earlier this year, several companies, including one with links to California, are understood to have expressed keen interest in setting up in the county should the hub get up and running.
Boosted by the fact that Cavan was chosen as one of 10 towns to be among Ireland’s first Gigabit towns or 'fibrehoods’ under SIRO’s 1GB Broadband Network, the aim is to emulate the success of the first rurally-based digital hub the Ludgate in Skibbereen, west Cork, which was officially opened in July of this year.
Pioneering in the fast-paced world of new tech start-up, within weeks of the Ludgate opening, it had 20 permanent tenants and more than 100 members who use it on a part-time basis. Up to half of those are employees of large multinationals such as Google, Facebook and Pfizer working in the city.
“Success breeds success,” says Richard Stafford of Apridata Limited, a Cavan-based data analysis and data management solutions. He believes a dedicated base for digital business workers in the county would help spearhead a digital revolution within the county.

A long-time proponent of such an initiative, he told The Anglo-Celt: “One of the challenges for any business is attracting talent. Our business is not about location, the very nature of it means it can be done everywhere. We are an less than an hour-and-a-half from Dublin and the airport. The only question now is what else can be done to attract these people in, remove those barriers?
“I would love to see something like this happen in Cavan and the benefit for the region would be huge,” Mr Stafford said. “The last five years alone I have seen Cavan grow as a location that is not only amenable to the major urban centres, but is increasingly attractive for digital start-up companies to consider as a location to develop.”
A statement from the Cavan and Monaghan Education and Training Board (CMETB), which also supports the creation of a Digital Hub as advocated in the consultation meetings, told the Celt they are working “very closely” with the council in supporting the development of the digital strategy.
It read: “A key CMETB strategic aim is to support growth and development of business in the region through the provision of a highly educated and trained workforce and, to this end, it is coordinating a Skills Audit with employers within the region.
“The ETB is very supportive of any initiative, which could have the potential of bringing together local digital entrepreneurs allowing them to ‘develop and grow together’, and will give any such initiative their full backing and support.”
As part of its training remit, meanwhile, CMETB is currently running a range of IT courses including an ICT Associate Professional course and a course geared towards training participants in Smart Technology.
They also helped to launch Youth2Work in partnership with the GAA, Microsoft and FIT to raise local awareness of emerging job opportunities in tech and related sectors in the Cavan region.