About
Bank of Ireland Workbench is a unique concept which connects entrepreneurs, branch, and community by offering dedicated space for co-working, seminars, clinics and events to encourage innovation and new ideas.
Innovation presentation
The Innovation function has developed a unique Workbench concept at Bank of Ireland branches in Grand Canal Square, Dublin and a recently launched facility at Mainguard Street, Galway. These are the first of their kind in Ireland, providing valuable completely free digitally-enabled co-working space to start-ups and entrepreneurs, helping them translate their vision into viable enterprises. Workbench's connected culture fosters the sharing of experiences and knowledge; helps start-ups build stronger cases for investor support; attracts top talent; and helps them avoid some of the pitfalls that afflict any business when it is at the very delicate early stage.
An extensive range of supports on offer – which include mentorship programmes, meetups, VC open hours, conferences, networking and hackathons.
Workbench was conceived following extensive research across Ireland, which identified the need for very early stage support for start-ups and is designed to be scalable, reflecting the unique dynamic of the community it serves. It has fundamentally redefined the role of the branch in the community and demonstrated the banks commitment to the Irish Governments IFS2020 Strategy.
Uniqueness of the project
Bank of Ireland provides the only free, dedicated, coworking space in Ireland and few examples in Europe. It has resourced this space with recognised leaders in the community to mentor and advise, not sell. This model is designed to fit into traditional bank branches, and has completely redefined their role in the community. It points to a new direction for the bank branch, away from the narrow 'advice & device' model spreading across the world. It supports innovation and entrepeneurial thinking among startups, community and staff. It is sustainable given the additional business and connections made for the bank despite no sales or leads KPI's.
