ICT for Recovery

Assistive technology specialists Texthelp celebrate a decade of national awards

The company, which specialises in assistive software to support individuals with their reading, writing and research skills in education, the workplace and at home, is one of only two companies to make the list every year thanks to a growth of 140% over five years.

Texthelp offers assistive technologies to struggling readers, those with literacy difficulties, learning disabilities such as dyslexia, mild visual impairments and where English is a second language. The mission: to provide high quality and innovative technology for any person of any age seeking to develop their language skills through the use of a computer.

The Fast 50 programme, now in its tenth year in Ireland, ranks the fastest-growing technology companies in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. This year, there are 14 companies from Northern Ireland in the ranking.

Mark McCusker, CEO of Texthelp, commented: 'We are absolutely delighted to make the Fast 50 list for ten years in a row; it is a huge achievement for us. There are up to 250,000 learners in the UK who have reading and writing difficulties and our continued growth demonstrates the need for the supportive technologies we provide. We hope to keep growing as a company and developing our technologies to meet the needs of these individuals and make sure everyone has the same opportunities to learn and develop their skills.'

Announcing the winners of the Technology Fast 50 programme, David Coates, Associate Partner, Deloitte, Belfast said: "The aim of this year's Fast 50 was to showcase the resilience and determination of Ireland's indigenous technology industry and this has certainly been achieved. Our winners show that they are rising above the challenging business environment and are proof that inventive companies will continue to be successful."

The awards took place in Clontarf Castle on 15 October 2009. Industry figures speaking at the event included Paul Rellis, Managing Director, Microsoft Ireland; Michael Dwyer, Founder and CEO, Empathy Marketing Limited (Pigsback.com); and Jim Sloane, Lead Technology Partner and Vice Chairman, Deloitte UK.

Details of the final Technology Fast 50 ranking list are available to download at www.fast50.ie.