Accelerating Opportunity
CO:WORX
Edgeworthstown Enterprise Hub · Co. Longford
FROM A SHUTTERED BANK TO A DIGITAL HUB - PROOF OF WHAT A TOWN CAN DO WHEN IT DECIDES ITS BEST DAYS ARE AHEAD.
Walk into CO:WORX today and you’d never guess it used to be a shuttered bank. The Irish Times described it as something you’d expect at Google HQ, transplanted to the Irish midlands: cool, modern, flooded with light, with hot desks, sealed booths, conference and video-conferencing rooms, and a podcast and vodcast studio.
A once-empty bank has become a place to work, learn, connect and create opportunity -bringing new energy to the main street and helping Longford’s people build what comes next.
For a town where roughly a third of people were out of work and third-level participation sat among the lowest in the region, that ambition was the whole point.
The project began in 2018, when Longford County Council bought the old bank on behalf of the community and leased it to a new volunteer-led company. The committee -a company director, a project-management lecturer, a mechanical engineer, senior civil servants, a telecoms director and the head of the Local Enterprise Office -set out to refurbish and extend the building into a Digital Business Hub and a Continuing Professional Development centre.
But CO:WORX was always intended to be more than a building. Its ambition was to create an ecosystem where education, enterprise and the wider community could connect -giving people access to skills, workspace, networks and opportunities that might otherwise be harder to find locally.
Today, that ambition is visible in the hub’s growing programme of training, remote-working supports, enterprise activity and community partnerships. Through the TUS Learning Gate, Longford LEO Clinics, the Grow Remote Network and Community
Upskilling, CO:WORX connects people with learning, enterprise support, remote-working opportunities and practical skills -helping local people and businesses build the confidence and capability to grow.
The funding was a jigsaw of LEADER, Enterprise Ireland, Town & Village Renewal and the group’s own funds -strong on paper, but much of it payable in arrears against claims, months after contractors needed paying.
Clann Credo made the difference twice over: first with bridging finance against the grants so the build could proceed, then, when costs moved, with a term loan that closed the gap and got the doors open.
The hub opened for business in April 2022, on time and within budget, with Longford County Council ring-fencing annual revenue support towards the repayments.
A COMMUNITY PROJECT WITH A BIGGER PURPOSE
CO:WORX does more than provide workspace. It connects local people with education, enterprise and opportunity -supporting start-ups, providing space for remote workers, delivering community upskilling and creating a place where people can meet, learn and collaborate.
And the ambition continues. In 2025, CO:WORX took another step forward in its green transition, installing 22 solar panels and creating a community edible garden -practical actions that demonstrate how a community asset can become more sustainable while engaging the people who use it.
“We’re volunteers who happen to know our way around a balance sheet, and even we found grant timing challenging. You’ve signed a fixed-price contract and the money is months away. Clann Credo understood the finance piece. They bridged us, then stayed with us when the costs moved, and treated us as partners building something for Longford rather than a risk to be managed. CO:WORX exists because they backed the people, not just the project.”
Hugh Quinn, Chairman, Edgeworthstown Enterprise Hub CLG
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SO, WHAT CAME OF IT?
Longford’s first dedicated digital hub. A national winner at the European Enterprise Promotion Awards and recognised in the .ie Digital Town Awards. Office space is occupied by an anchor tenant alongside a growing roster of businesses, while training, remote-work supports and community events have brought new life to the main street. In 2025, CO:WORX continued to build its role as an education, enterprise and community hub -while beginning a practical green transition. The installation of 22 solar panels and creation of a community edible garden add an environmental dimension to the project, demonstrating that community development and sustainability can advance together.
IMPACT AT A GLANCE:
First digital hub in Co. Longford · 38+ desk/office spaces · 10+ volunteers · 22 solar panels · European Enterprise Promotion Awards national winner.
1. Grant Aid
LEADER, Enterprise Ireland and Town & Village Renewal provided the capital backbone for the project. With much of the funding paid retrospectively, the timing of grant payments created a significant cashflow challenge during construction. Clann Credo’s lending enabled the works to commence, bridging the gap between the upfront costs of the project and the receipt of grant funding.
2. Impact Lending
Clann Credo’s bridging loans carried the project through the timing gap between paying contractors and receiving grant funding. When project costs increased, a term loan provided the additional finance needed to complete the project and get the doors open.
3. Philanthropy
An upfront local contribution was provided to support loan repayments for the first two years.
4. Earned Income
A strong schedule of activity -including office and hot-desk rents, training rooms and the broadcast studio -provides recurring income that helps make the hub sustainable. A predictable calendar of activity is critical to that sustainability and an important indicator of the organisation’s capacity to service and repay impact lending over time.
