Ireland’s Best Young Entrepreneur

There are 465 places up for grabs at business bootcamps for entrepreneurs aged between 18 and 30, who are entering this year’s Ireland’s Best Young Entrepreneur (IBYE) competition.

The Local Enterprise Office (LEO) in each county will invite up to 15 young entrepreneurs (people who are setting up new businesses or expanding existing ones) to take part in these bootcamps, where they will learn about business strategy, finding the right target markets, assessing risk and financial planning. Expert mentoring on a one-to-one basis will also be offered to help refine and improve business plans and proposals.

From the bootcamps, entrepreneurs will progress to the county final stage of the IBYE competition. At this stage, three local winners will be picked in the following categories: Best New Idea (pre-trading), Best Startup Business (up to 24 months) and Best Established Business (over 24 months). Each LEO will have a total fund of €50,000 to invest in the three winning businesses, distributed as follows: the winners in the latter two categories will receive an investment of €20,000 and the winner in the former category will receive an investment of €10,000.

The three winners will then represent their Local Enterprise Office at one of eight regional finals in October, with the national final taking place in December.

Ireland’s Best Young Entrepreneur competition is open to every young Irish person with an innovative business idea – individuals, venture teams, partnerships, existing businesses with a new idea and people overseas (including Irish emigrants) who will headquarter in Ireland.

The closing date for entries for the competition, and a chance to win a place at a local business bootcamp, is Friday 31 July. To enter, apply through www.ibye.ie