€50,000 investment fund presented by Local Enterprise Office South Dublin to six young entrepreneurs in the county, all aged between 18 and 35.

South Dublin’s best young entrepreneurs have been announced at the County Final of Ireland’s Best Young Entrepreneur (IBYE) competition, which took place in the Local Enterprise Offices in County Hall on Wednesday night, November 30th.

The overall “Best Young Entrepreneur” for the county was named by Local Enterprise Office South Dublin as Aonghus Shortt, age 30 from Food Marble in Glendown, Templeogue. The entrepreneur also won the category for Best-Start-Up Business and an investment fund from LEO South Dublin worth €15,000
The other main category winners on the day were Darragh Mason of Dublin Mountain Design from Boden Park in the Best New Idea category, and Kyle McLaughlin of Irish Garage Equipment based in Rathcoole in the Best Established Business category. The top prize in the Best New Idea category was €7000, with a top prize of €15000 for the Best Established Business category. All three category winners will now be representing the County at one of eight IBYE Regional Finals, taking place during January and February 2017.

Meanwhile, the category runners-up also shared an investment of €13,000 between their three businesses. They were: Gary O’Toole, 27, of Kickabout based in the Synergy Centre, IT Tallaght in the Best New Idea category; Sarah Kiely, 29, of Sadie’s Kitchen in Walkinstown in the Best Start-Up category and finally, Keith Downey, 31, of Platinum Group based in Clondalkin in the Best Established Business category.

Further details on the competition and supports available to young entrepreneurs are available through www.localenterprise.ie and from the IBYE website at www.ibye.ie.