On Tuesday 30th April, 45 young entrepreneurs from across Cork City and County will gather at Republic of Work, South Mall, to battle it out to become a County Finalist for Ireland’s Best Young Entrepreneur, a national competition run by the Local Enterprise Offices in each local authority on behalf of Enterprise Ireland and the Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation.
Competing across three categories, all of the contenders are 35 or under, and have already undergone a rigorous selection process. Fresh from the recently held Entrepreneurial Boot Camp, they have honed their business planning and pitching skills, as well as receiving one-to-one mentoring from experts in the field.
The three categories the candidates compete in are:
At the local judging stage each of the candidates are required to make 7 minute pitch, followed by a 12 minute interview with the judges who will deliberate and choose a winner in each category. The winners and runners up will be announced at the County final which will be hosted by Newstalk broadcaster and business journalist Jonathan Healy.
Head of Enterprise, Adrienne Rodgers said: “2019 has not disappointed with the standard of applicants presenting for this year’s bootcamp. Having seen the standard of our competitors it is evident that there is a strong current of entrepreneurship developing in Cork City and we are delighted to support each and every one of them in any way we can as they progress on their journeys.”
The winner in each category from each of the Cork Local Enterprise Offices will go through to the Regional Final to be held in Fermoy in June and with a bit of luck and the right pitch, they will get a chance to go on and win the overall national competition, where they can win up to €20,000. At Regional Level, the participants will be competing against the successful county finalists from Waterford. The National Final will be held in Google Foundry, Dublin in September this year.
Further details on the competition and supports available to young entrepreneurs can be found on www.localenterprise.ieand at www.ibye.ie.
