Local businesses to be celebrated at National Enterprise Awards
Local Enterprise Office South Cork opens up applications for 2016 National Enterprise Awards
The South Cork Local Enterprise Office is inviting businesses from the South Cork region which satisfy the following eligibility criteria to compete to be the South Cork nominated finalist in the National Enterprise Awards 2016.
Eligibility:
- The Business must have 10 employees or less;
- The Business must have been in receipt of grant assistance or other supports (eg. training, mentoring) from LEO South Cork;
- LEO South Cork clients who have transferred to Enterprise Ireland within the last 12 months are also eligible (please note any clients who may have transferred to Enterprise Ireland more than 12 months ago are not eligible);
- Previous County winners that satisfy the above criteria are eligible to enter.
The South Cork shortlisted business will then compete at a showcase event on March 11th 2016 which will be the final event of this year’s Enterprise Week 7th-11th March in South Cork.
Prize Fund:
LEO South Cork Winner: €2,500 cash + €2,500 soft support voucher
LEO South Cork Runner Up: €1,000 cash + €1,000 soft support voucher
The deadline for receipt of applications is 1pm Friday 26th February and last year’s local winner was Denis Coleman from Work Compass. The other award winners last year were Mark Roche of Medco and Tony Donovan of Voxtake.
Co-ordinated by the 31 Local Enterprise Offices in the Local Authorities Network, the National Enterprise Awards were set-up to celebrate the achievements of Ireland’s micro-enterprise sector. Previous winners have included Irish Yogurts from West Cork, Hot Irishman Irish Coffee (Walsh Whiskey Distillery) from Carlow, Innovate IT and Telecoms from Wexford, Grouse Lodge Recording Studios from Westmeath, DesignPro from Limerick and Simtech Aviation from Fingal.
According to Sean O’Sullivan of the Local Enterprise Office South Cork, the National Enterprise Awards highlight the success stories behind Ireland’s small businesses. Encouraging local businesses to enter this year’s competition, he said: “The Local Enterprise Office is the first stop shop for small businesses and start-ups here in the county and we want to celebrate their impressive achievements, giving them national recognition for their successes. Winning awards can open doors for businesses and we’re inviting local businesses and start-ups to take the next step by entering the National Enterprise Awards.”
Last year’s national winners included: MyBio (Overall Winners, supported by Local Enterprise Office Kilkenny), Áine Knitwear (Design Award, supported by Local Enterprise Office Clare), Vision Built Manufacturing (Export Award, supported by the Local Enterprise Office Galway), the Property Button, (Start-Up Award, supported by Local Enterprise Office Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown) and Gannon Eco (Innovation Award, supported by Local Enterprise Office Westmeath).
Three other national finalists from 2015 were: Glendalough Distillery (supported by Local Enterprise Office Wicklow), Elemex (supported by Local Enterprise Office Louth) and Kinnegar Brewing (supported by Local Enterprise Office Donegal).
Further details about the supports available to local start-ups and small businesses are available through www.localenterprise.ie. Updates around the National Enterprise Awards are available by searching #NEAwards16 on social media.
