Sigma Technology launches a new £6m fund to support SMEs

The Sigma Innovation Fund has been raised to provide seed funding for start-up and early-stage technology businesses located in the East of Scotland and has attracted both public and private sector funding. Bank of Scotland has contributed £3m; the European Regional Development Fund has pledged £2.225m and Scottish Enterprise Fife around £125,000. In addition to its role as manager of the Fund, Sigma has invested £650,000.The Fund can invest between £20,000 and £300,000 per investment in innovative small to medium-sized enterprises in the East of Scotland and is able to provide a mixture of debt and equity packages. Companies eligible for the Fund are likely to be operating in the technology, media and telecommunications fields and should demonstrate the capacity for high growth and the potential for job creation in the region. Sigma works closely with its portfolio companies and, in addition to funding, can provide business development, corporate finance and recruitment services to businesses. The Fund has already made two investments and has a further three nearing completion. The first company to benefit is Securivox; a biometric company based in Dundee specialising in voice authentication technology. SFX Technologies, a company based in Rosyth, has also received financing to continue development of its flat panel speaker technology and to expand its marketing activity. This Fund is complementary to Sigma's UK-wide Sigma Technology Venture Fund, which currently has £17m under management and is aimed at later stage projects with the same sector focus. Potentially, companies in the region could benefit from both funds depending on their stage of development.

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