Dublin’s newest digital hub has been unveiled with the opening of Digital Dún Laoghaire, which aims to generate 450 jobs over the course of the next two years.

The official launch of Digital Dún Laoghaire comes after months of discussions led by the Dún Laoghaire Business Improvement District, including Bank of Ireland’s start-up division last May.

The aim of the project is to replicate the success of other digital centres like the Digital Hub in Dublin 8, while also bringing together a number of the town’s existing digital start-ups.

Currently, over 60 companies are based in Dún Laoghaire, ranging from start-ups to multinational companies.

Based on a recent survey of these companies, they jointly hope to create 450 new jobs in the town over the course of the next two years.

Many of these potential jobs will be in small numbers, with just 4.35pc of these companies expecting to create between 20 and 50 jobs during this time period.

However, 27pc of these companies said they would be expecting to create between six and 10 jobs.

Making Dún Laoghaire attractive to talent

The majority of the surveyed companies (61pc) said that being part of the new Digital Dún Laoghaire cluster will increase the likelihood of their success, with 52pc saying it would make easier to recruit the right kind of talent.

In terms of challenges, these companies fear limited access to talent and support schemes needed for scaling their businesses.

With the Dún Laoghaire Business Improvement District running its operations, Digital Dún Laoghaire will be led by its chairperson, Anthony Quigley.

In his other role, Quigley is the co-founder of the Digital Marketing Institute also based in Dún Laoghaire.

Among some of its first developments will be the creation of a marketing strategy to roll out internet of things (IoT) sensors in the town to monitor footfall.

George’s Street, Dún Laoghaire. Image: Fabianodp/Shutterstock