10th July 2015
#IBYE
More than 450 young entrepreneurs, aged between 18 and 30, are set to benefit from a series of Business Bootcamps in September, as part of Ireland’s Best Young Entrepreneur competition (#IBYE).
Each Local Enterprise Office in every county will invite up to 15 young entrepreneurs to take part, to help them improve their entrepreneurial skills and develop strategies that will help them set-up new businesses, or expand existing ones.
A measure under the Action Plan for Jobs, Ireland’s Best Young Entrepreneur (IBYE) competition is an initiative of the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation and is run by Enterprise Ireland through the network of 31 Local Enterprise Offices.
By entering this year’s competition before the July 31st deadline, any young entrepreneur with a business idea or already in business can win a place at a local Business Bootcamp.
The Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Richard Bruton TD said that Ireland’s Best Young Entrepreneur was a competition that was open to every young Irish person with an innovative business idea. He said: “There is now €2 million available for investment and targeted business supports, to help young people turn their ideas into real-world businesses. Through the Business Bootcamp programme of Ireland’s Best Young Entrepreneur competition, more than 450 young people from every county in Ireland will be supported along their start-up journeys. To increase their chances of success, young entrepreneurs will learn about business strategy, finding the right target markets, assessing risk and financial planning, to help them build solid businesses that will create jobs.”
Business mentoring will also form an important part of the training programme, which will be tailored to the needs of those taking part, according to Sheelagh Daly of the Local Enterprise Offices. She said: “To help young entrepreneurs refine and improve their business plans and proposals, expert mentoring on a one-to-one basis will be offered through the Business Bootcamps. They will also be shown how to apply business and leadership skills to their own businesses, helping them make the move from theory into practice.”
Following on from the Bootcamps, the young entrepreneurs then progress to the county final stage of Ireland’s Best Young Entrepreneur competition. There, three local winners will share in a €50,000 investment prize-fund for the county, broken down as follows: ‘Best New Idea’ winner will receive up to €10,000, ‘Best Start Up Business’ winner will receive up to €20,000 and finally, ‘Best Established Business’ winner will also receive up to €20,000.
The three winners will represent their Local Enterprise Office at one of eight regional finals in October, with the national final taking place in December to announce Ireland’s ‘Best Young Entrepreneur’ for 2015.
The closing date for entries in this year’s IBYE competition and a chance to win a place at a local Business Bootcamp is Friday, July 31st through www.ibye.ie. Further details are also available by searching #IBYE on social media.
ENDS
For all queries around Ireland’s Best Young Entrepreneur Competition, please contact Engage Ireland:
Sarah Bohan on Tel; 01 427 8388 / 087 65 39936 / office@engageireland.com
Ireland’s Best Young Entrepreneur 2015 (#IBYE)
Website: www.ibye.ie (closing date to enter: July 31st 2015)
Social Media: #IBYE
Ireland’s Best Young Entrepreneur is a competition that is open to everyone with an innovative business idea
- individuals
- venture teams
- partnerships
- existing businesses with a new idea
- people overseas (including Irish emigrants) who will headquarter in Ireland
The competition is broken down into three categories:
- Best New Idea (pre-trading)
- Best Start up Business (up to 24 months)
- Best Established Business (over 24 months)
Each Local Enterprise Office (LEO) is running a competition (July 31st closing date) aimed at finding winners in each of the three categories as well as an overall winner in each county. Each LEO will have a total fund of €50,000 to invest in the three winning businesses according to criteria including businesses’ investment needs.
The competition will then proceed to eight regional finals with winners identified in each category. In total, 24 finalists will be selected during the regional finals, during the judging stage. All 24 finalists will win a place at the IBYE national finals in December 2015.
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