Local Enterprise Office Mayo have announced that teenage entrepreneurs from Ballinrobe, Kiltimagh and Belmullet will represent Mayo at this year’s Student Enterprise Programme National Final on Thursday 9th May.

An estimated 200 students from 17 Mayo secondary schools took part in the County Final on 7 March, which was held at the Great National Hotel, Ballina.

The enterprise education initiative is funded by the Government of Ireland through Enterprise Ireland and delivered by Local Enterprise Offices in local authorities throughout the country. It saw over 28,000 students from just under 500 secondary schools across the country take part in 2022 / 2023. The programme supports students to create, design and market their own business, all with the hope of reaching the National Final.

In the Junior Category, the students representing Mayo at the National Final are “Easy Carrier” from Our Lady’s, Belmullet

In the Intermediate Category, “Owen’s Landscaping”, St Louis’ Kiltimagh, will be representing the county at the Final.

In the Senior Category of the competition, Mayo will be represented on May 9th by “Fly Fitness” from Ballinrobe Community School.

Our Lady’s, Belmullet, was named Mayo’s “most enterprising school”.

Minister Dara Calleary addressed the student entrepreneurs from Brussels.

Mayo has had success in the competition, most recently with students from Scoil Muire agus Brid, Swinford, winning ‘Best Stand’ and students from St Louis Secondary School, Kiltimagh winning the ‘Best IP Awareness’ award at the national finals in May last year.

Speaking at the county final, John Magee, Local Enterprise Office Mayo, congratulated the students, saying “We have a very successful student enterprise programme here in County Mayo, with 1,168 students from 21 local schools taking part this year. Our national finalists are excellent ambassadors for the programme and we wish them the very best of luck on the 9th May. What our students are learning from the programme is that with the right support and encouragement, they can take an idea from the classroom and develop it into a real-life business. The skills they learn along the way, such as business planning, market research, selling and team-work, will help them become more entrepreneurial throughout their future careers”.

The local students will be competing against hundreds of other student entrepreneurs from all over Ireland at the Student Enterprise Programme National Final, taking place in the Mullingar Park Hotel on the 9th May.

Since the Student Enterprise Programme began in 2003, over 380,000 students have taken part, learning key skills on how to create a business idea, start a business and grow a business. The Student Enterprise Programme also has new range of online resources for 2023 / 2024 at www.StudentEnterprise.ie, which will feature regular blogs and houses a full range of Student Enterprise resources for students and teachers.

Further information around the Student Enterprise Programme is available from www.studententerprise.ie and by searching #studententerprise on social media.