15 county finalists in Ireland’s Best Young Entrepreneur (IBYE) competition, organised by Local Enterprise Office Clare, participated in a two day specialised Entrepreneur Bootcamp in Ennis at the weekend.

The purpose of the event was to help participants develop the skills required to take an entrepreneurial idea from concept stage to reality and to build a viable business plan to commercialise the opportunity.

Bootcamp participants will now submit their business plan and make a pitch to the Clare County Assessment Panel.

Three winners in the categories of Best New Idea; Best Start-up Business and Best Established Business will be selected and from these winners one overall county winner will also be selected.

All three winners will progress to the regional final.  The national final will take place in Dublin in December, 2014 where Ireland’s Best Young Entrepreneur will be announced.   The Bootcamp was facilitated by Theresa Mulvihil of Smart Marketing Ltd.

Ireland’s Best Young Entrepreneur (IBYE) competition was launched earlier this year by An Taoiseach, Enda Kenny.  This IBYE Competition is designed to foster a culture of entrepreneurship in Ireland and to encourage the establishment of new innovative businesses by Ireland’s best young entrepreneurs.  The initiative is an integral part of the Action Plan for jobs 2014.

For more visit www.localenterprise.ie/Clare.