Home News Business €50,000 fund available to young Laois entrepreneurs as 2017 IBYE comes into...

€50,000 fund available to young Laois entrepreneurs as 2017 IBYE comes into focus

Kelly Ging with her parents Paul and Helen after winning the regional section of Ireland's Best Young Entrepreneur Award

Laois business people under the age of 35 are being encouraged to put their name forward for Ireland’s Best Young Entrepreneur (IBYE) award which has a prize fund of €50,000 in Laois and €2m throughout the country.

€50,000 was handed out to six young Laois entrepreneurs last year in what was the third year of the competition.

The IBYE is a national competition run initially in every county in Ireland before moving on to regional and then national level. All entrants must be under 35.

Kelly Ging of Kelly Lou Cakes represented Laois in the national final, the first Laois representative to do so.

The other Laois winners were Alan Meredith, a wood designer from Mountmellick, and Francis Cosgrove, a vet and dairy farmer from Luggacurren.

There are three categories in each county – Established (over three years in business), Start Up (less than three years in business) and New Idea (pre-trading). In 2016 there was €15,000 for the winners of the Established and Start Up category with €5,000 for the runner up in each. The winner of the New Idea category received €7,000 with the runner up claiming €3,000.

Last year there were 16 finalists in the three sections in Laois from over 60 initial entries.

You can register your interest in this year’s competition on the IBYE website.