Sunshine, laughter and optimism wins hearts at Foróige NFTE National Finals
Pictured at the Foróige Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship Programme (NFTE) ‘Youth Entrepreneur of the Year Awards 2023’ is Sinead Colreavy, EY, Ronnie Griffith and John Weedle HSBC, Sean Campbell and Karen Hannify, both Foroige.
This was an occasion to be inspired, as over 45 teams of young entrepreneurs from around the country, pitched their ideas to a panel of judges from some of Ireland’s leading companies including HSBC and JP Morgan, both of whom are involved in basis.point Partner Programmes with Foroige.
Foretelling of long hot summer days to come, 74 young entrepreneurs gathered together in festival style to celebrate their achievements and compete for the coveted titles of Best Business, Best Innovation and Best Social Enterprise.
Saoirse Onyemekeihia and Sean O’Rourke, National Finalists
Catching up with them as they chilled in the sunshine of Richmond Barracks, Dublin 2, they socialised, and networked as only young people know best.
Heady with excitement these young entrepreneurs had progressed through their local, county and regional finals and earned their right to compete in the National Finals.
Thanks in part to the funding provided by basis.point, Foróige have been able to grow the NFTE programme with a focus on engaging Deis schools throughout the country. Indeed, basis.point are the sole funders of the NFTE programme in Cork, so it was particularly wonderful to see such strong representation at the national finals.
Over 6,000 young people took part, supported by over 260 trained teachers, youth workers and volunteers. 30 regional competitions took place with over 90 judges on our judging panels throughout Ireland, many of whom were drawn from our Corporate Patrons.
Aimee Hegarty, Abbie Boyle and Aoife Smith, from Killybegs, Co Donegal, took the title of “Youth Entrepreneurs of the Year 2023”, for their business Simply Soap, beautiful handmade authentic handmade soap made from a goat’s milk base. Not only do they have a top quality product but they identified the huge cruise liners who dock in their beautiful small fishing town as a very lucrative target market. The girls will represent Ireland at the European Entrepreneur of the year later this year.
‘Best Innovation Award’ went to Sarah Hegarty, Grange Post Primary School Co. Sligo, with her business Girls in the Game, a series of books that highlight the positive role models in female sport today to inspire young girls to stay engaged in sport. ‘Special Recognition Award’ was presented to Jack Lafferty, Carndonagh Community School, Co. Donegal with his business Jolly Socks. Jack who overcame self doubt and lack of confidence, stood out as an exceptional example of how NFTE can transform the lives of young people.
Pictured L-R Maedhbh Sammon, Aoife O’Shea, Caroline Cooke, Elaine McSweeny and Tempy Stock
But it’s not all about winning. The NFTE team, under the guidance of Caroline Cooke, work hard to ensure that as many young entrepreneurs as possible gain experience from participating in the programme, be it showcasing their ideas at the RDS Craft Fair, to speaker opportunities at various events.
This year the finals were hosted by NFTE Alumni Tadhg O’Brien and Sommer Nolan and our own Annual Regional Dinner was brought to life by the personal journey the girls from Colaiste Pobail Bheanntrai, Co. Cork, who lit up the room at Fota Island.
Involvement in the NFTE programme has been shown to improve the business, academic, life skills and aspirations of young people experiencing disadvantage and adversity in their lives.
Sean Campbell of Foróige commented “The program is not just about business, it’s about encouraging young people to dream big and to believe that their hard work will one day pay off.”
There is a lot to look forward to from this pool of young talent.
