Press Release Friday, June 19th 2015
Three Local Businesses to win “game-changing” Investment
Ireland’s Best Young Entrepreneur Competition gets underway around the country, with €50,000 to be won by three local businesses.
Three young enterprising people from Wexford can win a “game-changing” investment for their business, through Ireland’s Best Young Entrepreneur competition.
That’s according to the Local Enterprise Office Wexford, which is rolling out the IBYE competition this month.
The enterprising winners, who must all be aged between 18 and 30, will be awarded an investment prize of between €10,000 and €20,000 each to put straight into their business or to help fund a business idea.
The competition is part of the Action Plan for Jobs and was launched last month by An Taoiseach Enda Kenny. T.D. and the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Mr. Richard Bruton T.D. The closing date to enter online through www.ibye.ie is Friday, July 31st and the competition is only open to those aged between 18 and 30 with an existing business or with an idea for a new one.
Minister Richard Bruton said: “The prizes involved can be game-changing for a new business. The investment can be used to buy a new piece of equipment for example or it can be used to help pay the salary of a new employee joining the team. The experience of last year’s IBYE winners shows the great benefit that this competition can bring. We have a growing number of entrepreneurs here in Ireland, but we don’t have enough of them. Through Ireland’s Best Young Entrepreneur competition, we’re encouraging more young people to consider setting up a business as a career choice - and the supports on offer through IBYE can help them deliver on that”.
The Local Enterprise Office Wexford has €50,000 to invest in three local businesses or start-ups. The three categories in the competition are: Best Idea (€10,000 investment prize), Best Start-Up (€20,000 investment prize) and Best Established Business (€20,000 investment prize).
Last year’s county winners were: Ian Coleman (LifeBites) – Best Business Idea, Mark Whitney (Pillar Healthcare) – Best Start-Up, and Bláithín Ennis (Bláithín Ennis) – Best Established Business. Ian went on to represent #TeamWexford at the National Final held in Dublin.
In the 2014 IBYE competition, Philip Martin used his prize money to buy specialist machinery, helping him to open Ireland’s first tortilla-making factory in Tipperary (National Winner: 2014 Best Business Idea).
The investment prize also helped Eamon Keane take on highly skilled staff at Xpreso Software in South Dublin (National Winner: 2014 Best Start Up Business/ Overall Winner). The funds also helped Dean Gammell from Westmeath to expand his group booking software business into the UK (National Winner: 2014 Best Established Business).
In addition to investment prizes, additional supports are being offered to those entering, as Deirdre McGing, Enterprise Executive, from the Local Enterprise Office Wexford explains: “As well as three local winners, who will share the €50,000 investment fund, up to 500 young entrepreneurs and business owners will also be invited to take part in Business Bootcamps around the country, helping them finely tune their business plans and to learn new enterprise skills. One-to-one mentoring and business coaching will also be available, through all 31 Local Enterprise Offices. ”
July 31st is the deadline to enter the competition through www.ibye.ie and there are no entry fees.
Ireland’s Best Young Entrepreneur is supported by the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation through Enterprise Ireland and the Local Enterprise Offices. Further competition details are available by searching #ibye on social media.
