12th March 2018
County Enterprise Awards one of many highlights during ‘Local Enterprise Week’
A hospitality staffing web-platform business from Shannon has won the County Enterprise Award for 2018.
The top prize of €5,000 plus a PR & Digital Marketing mentoring package went to Hannah Wrixon of Get the Shifts Ltd. in Shannon, who will now represent Local Enterprise Office Clare at the National Enterprise Awards, which celebrates its 20th anniversary on May 24th.
Get the Shifts Ltd. is an online staffing solutions business which matches temporary hospitality workers with relevant employers across Ireland using an on demand web and mobile platform. The company currently employs four people, with plans to employ three more before the end of the year.
Speaking after the Awards as part of Local Enterprise Week, Padraic McElwee, Head of Enterprise with Local Enterprise Office Clare said: “Get the Shifts Ltd. has already become a success story and the judges were particularly impressed by the grasp the Entrepreneur had of their business model and where the opportunities lay for the future growth of the business. As Local Enterprise Offices celebrate twenty years of the National Enterprise Awards in 2018, Clare are proud to be represented by Get the Shifts Ltd. in this extra special year.”
Speaking at the Awards, Minister for Trade, Employment, Business, EU Digital Single Market and Data Protection, Pat Breen, T.D., said “I would like to congratulate Hannah Wrixon of Get the Shifts Ltd. on winning this year’s Clare County Enterprise Award. While there can be only one outright winner, I am extremely heartened by the quality of all the entries and of the strong level of enterprise that clearly exits in the county. I am confident that many of the businesses here will develop and grow and will expand into global markets. As we have seen from previous Clare County Enterprise Award winners like Callan Technology and ABC Nutrition, this competition can be a springboard to great success and I wish our winners, Get the Shifts Ltd., and all the finalists all the best in their enterprise future. They can be assured that their Local Enterprise Office here in Clare will always be there to support their ambition”
Other winners at the awards ceremony, held at the The Old Ground Hotel in Ennis on Friday night (9th March) included Fintan Ward & Conor Galvin, Golf Voyager and Adam Coleman of HR Locker.
Judging is taking place in April and Get the Shifts Ltd. will be competing against 30 other finalists from every local authority area for a share of the €40,000 prize fund. The Mansion House in Dublin is the venue for awards ceremony in May and categories this year include ‘Best Export Business,’ ‘Best Start Up Business’ and ‘Innovation,’ in addition to eight regional awards.
10 other local businesses were also shortlisted this year, and they were Creative Clay, Shannon; Glynn Technical Diamonds Ltd, Kilrush; Rathú, Ennis; Indigo Signs, Shannon; AIP Thermoform, Newmarket-on-Fergus; Castle Blinds, Ennis; Galanta Jewellery, Cratloe; Assuré Medical, Quin; Fintech.ie, Shannon and Céile, Lahinch.
Among the special guests at the ceremony were Minster for Trade, Employment, Business, EU Digital Single Market and Data Protection, Pat Breen, T.D., and Cathaoirleach, Tom McNamara. Members of the judging panel included Kieran Sheahan, Founder-Owner of Ascent Associate, Orlaith Borthwick, Programme Manager with Mid-West Action Plan for Jobs and Harriet Cotter of Enterprise Ireland.
The awards were just one of the many highlights of Local Enterprise Week, which came to an end on March 9th. All over the country, the 31 Local Enterprise Offices have jointly ran over 300 events aimed at start-ups, aspiring entrepreneurs and small businesses in their area, to mark the week.
Other high-profile events during Local Enterprise Week included a Cyber Security Breakfast Briefing, a Women in Business event, a Retail Therapy for Retailers event, PR & Media Skills Workshop and the Student Enterprise Programme Awards.
ENDS
For all information and media requests around the County Enterprise Awards or Local Enterprise Week, please contact Clare Local Enterprise Office - 065 6821616 / localenterprise@clarecoco.ie
National Enterprise Awards 2018
Award Categories and Prize Fund
The 2018 National Enterprise Awards take place on May 24th in the Mansion House in Dublin and are organised by the Local Enterprise Offices
- Overall Winner, National Enterprise Awards 2017 (Cash Prize for business: €10,000)
- Best Export Business (Cash Prize for business: €5,000)
- Best Start Up Business (Cash Prize for business: €5,000)
- Innovation Award (Cash Prize for business: €5,000)
- Eight Regional Winners (Cash Prize for business: €2,000 each)
- Regions:
- Dublin City, Fingal, Dún Laoghaire- Rathdown and South Dublin
- Kildare, Laois, Offaly and Westmeath
- Wicklow, Wexford, Carlow and Kilkenny
- Louth, Meath, Cavan and Monaghan
- Donegal, Sligo, Leitrim and Longford
- Galway, Mayo and Roscommon
- Clare, Limerick, Kerry and Tipperary
- Cork City, South Cork, Cork North & West and Waterford
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