Who will be Kildare’s Best Young Entrepreneur?
Twelve exciting young entrepreneurs from Kildare aged between 18-30 have been shortlisted as this year’s finalists for the Kildare Young Entrepreneur Competition. The selected business men and women are currently taking part in an intensive two week business boot-camp which includes business training and mentoring in the areas of market research, sales and marketing, financials, branding and innovation.
The twelve finalists will battle it out for a total of 50,000 euro in business investment and also a chance to move onto the regional and national finals of the competition. Kildare had over 50 applications this year which put them in the top ten nationally for entries. The standard of entry this year was very strong and the 12 finalists have diverse and exciting business prospects to bring to the table. The businesses on display span a range of sectors from IT, food & beverage, tourism, education to manufacturing and more.
The competition is broken into three categories with 50,000 euro total in prize funding being provided by the Local Enterprise Office Kildare. This funding is divided between three categories. The categories are as follows: Best Idea (€10,000 investment prize), Best Start-Up (€20,000 investment prize) and Best Established Business (€20,000 investment prize).
The twelve finalists will be assessed by three local judges in late September after submitting their business plans and taking part in a Dragon’s Den style pitching competition.
The winner in each category and the overall winner will be selected at a prize giving from 5:30-7:30pm on the 1st October 2015 in the Kildare County Council Chamber Building. This event will be attended by local dignitaries with Mary Ann O’Brien CEO and founder of ‘Lily O’Brien Chocolates’’ attending as a guest speaker on the night.
The competition is part of the Action Plan for Jobs and was launched in May by An Taoiseach Enda Kenny. T.D. and the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Mr. Richard Bruton T.D.
For more information please contact Gerard McCluskey Local Enterprise Office Kildare on gmccluskey@kildarecoco.ie or 045 980 575
