Young Entrepreneur 2017
IBYE Best Idea Winner 2017 Rachel Masterson
Alan Farrelly & Brian O’Rourke winners of the IBYE 2017 Best Young Business Award
Louise Brennan, Fabiani 2017 County Longford IBYE Winner
The overall “best young entrepreneur” for the county was named by Local Enterprise Office Longford as Louise Brennan age 31 from Fabiani in Longford. The entrepreneur also won the category for Best Established Business and an investment fund from LEO Longford worth €15,000.
The other main category winners on the day were Brian O’Rourke, 26, CitySwifter, Kenagh in the Best Start Up category and Rachel Masterson,27, Media Mast, Longford in the Best Business Idea category. The top prize in the Start Up category was € 15,000, with a top prize of € 7,000 for the Best Business Idea category. All three category winners will now be representing the County at one of eight IBYE Regional Finals, taking place during February 2017.
Meanwhile, the category runners-up also shared an investment of €13,000 between their three businesses. They were: Micheal Savage, 28, Lir Agri Longford in the Established Business category; Pauric Connolly, 34, Macs Shack Kenagh in the Start Up category and finally, Pierre Delannoy, 33, Killoe in the Best Business Idea category.
Michael Nevin Head of Enterprise with Local Enterprise Office Longford commented: “We started the search to find Ireland’s best young entrepreneur in August and the competition received a record-breaking number of entries this year, with 1,800 young entrepreneurs applying nationally. After a very successful IBYE bootcamp and County Final, the future is bright for both youth entrepreneurship and job creation in the region.”
Special guests at the IBYE County Final included: Councillor Mick Cahill, Cathaoirleacht Longford County Council, Councillor Seamus Butler (Judge)
The vital role of the judging panel was also acknowledged at the awards ceremony and this year’s judges included: Seamus Butler of Butler Manufacturing Services Ltd., Seadna Ryan, Geraldine Stewart from the Business Clinic, Tara Farrell from Longford Womens Link, Derek Scanlon, The Debt Clinic and Longford Chamber of Commerce and Tracey Tallon of LEO Westmeath.
Further details on the competition and supports available to young entrepreneurs are available through www.localenterprise.ie and from the IBYE website at www.ibye.ie.