Golf irrigation start-up Irrigate App wins £100,000 Scottish EDGE award
The Meadowmill-based company will use the funding to expand its sales team and develop a third-generation product, as it targets ageing golf course infrastructure
Irrigate App has won £100,000 in the Scottish EDGE funding competition, as the East Lothian company looks to expand its sales operation and develop new hardware.
The Meadowmill-based business, co-founded by Ian McKenna and now jointly led with commercial director Joe Pacitti, retrofits ageing golf course irrigation systems using cellular technology.
The award was made in the Scottish EDGE category of the latest funding round.
McKenna said the funding will go towards a dedicated sales and marketing hire, work on a third-generation product involving hardware design, and development of higher-level data capability within the company's software.
The company was founded to address the cost of replacing conventional golf course irrigation systems, which McKenna encountered as a committee member at Prestonfield Golf Club.
Irrigate App's system connects to existing irrigation valves via cellular network rather than new control wiring, which the company says reduces both the cost and disruption of an upgrade compared with a full system replacement.
McKenna said: "We have a plan to increase our sales and marketing direct channel – that will be a dedicated sales and marketing resource.
"We also have a third-generation product offering we need to start working on, so some of the money will go on hardware design.
"We also want to look at a higher level of data capability in our software."
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