Female founders of Northern Ireland tech company Kinsetsu have secured new contracts worth over £1million

Founded in 2016 by Joanne O’Doherty and Jackie Crooks, Kinsetsu provides innovative sensor-based and automation technology solutions that are deployed to drive positive change within critical service environments. Kinsetsu’s ‘ktrack’ software works by simplifying the connection and management of assets using a diverse network of sensors, providing automated insight and status awareness of equipment, people, inventory and fleet.

Since the start of the year, Kinsetsu has secured new contracts in the defence, healthcare, and commercial sectors, with its impressive client list including NHS hospitals in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, the Royal Navy, Dumfries & Galloway Council, RTE and Tekno Surgical.

Commenting on the Company’s rapid growth and future plans, CEO Joanne O’Doherty, said: “Jackie and I are immensely proud to be female founders working in tech and in defence – neither of which is a common trait, creating jobs in our hometown, and making a real difference in all the sectors we serve.”

Less than 2p in every £1 invested during 2022 went to all-female founding teams, compared to 85p for all-male founding teams. However, Kinsetsu has broken the mould with a £1.55m investment led by leading venture capital firm Par Equity, that partner with innovative, fast-growing technology companies in the north of the UK, with matching from Co-Fund NI locally, which is already playing a vital role in the expansion of the company’s business operations and growth within the critical sectors served.

Commenting on their decision to invest in Kinsetsu, Alistair Moore from Par Equity, explained: “Kinsetsu is in the right place at the right time, and we’re excited about its potential to radically automate and optimise tasks and workflows for its customers whilst delivering substantial savings.

"Led by visionary founders, Joanne and Jackie, the company’s proprietary software delivers a return on investment of over 400% for its customer base, bringing full transparency to their asset tracking on a global basis. We’re thrilled to support the business on its scaling journey.”

From a start-up in a serviced office, Kinsetsu has grown to almost 30 employees with offices in Belfast, Galway and Ottawa. The company has tenaciously scaled up through an unprecedented period of disruption and economic turmoil and continues to sign multi-year contracts across mainland UK the island of Ireland for its innovative IoT software platform.

Joanne added: “In addition to investment, our growth has been fuelled by the development of Kinsetsu’s partner channel and creating relationships in new global markets, which have expanded customer diversity and enabled us to focus on new product development.”

As a further recognition of their success, Joanne and Jackie were thrilled to receive the award for ‘Tech Team of the Year’ at May’s Women in Tech Awards, hosted by Women In Business, symbolising the collective effort and unwavering determination of the entire Kinsetsu team.