More than 800 people from all over County Clare participated in Clare Local Enterprise Week 2017 which concluded today with the annual County Enterprise Awards ceremony.
Hosted by Local Enterprise Office Clare at various locations around the county, the weeklong series of business training workshops and networking events were aimed at informing, advising and motivating businesses and potential entrepreneurs in relation to the range of supports and opportunities in Clare.
The week began on a hugely positive note for the local enterprise sector with the news that Damien Mason of Scarriff-based FlexiBod, representing Local Enterprise Office Clare, finished runner-up in the Best Business Idea Category (pre-trading) having already won the coveted title at the IBYE Regional Final during February.
One of the headline events of Local Enterprise Week was the hosting of the Clare Enterprise Awards on Friday.
Organised by the National network of Local Enterprise Offices, the awards scheme celebrates the achievements of Ireland’s micro-enterprise sector. The winner of the County Final – Core Optimisation in Shannon – will represent Clare in the National Final on 25th May in Dublin’s Mansion House. Sixmilebridge based Clubify was named Runner-Up.
Among the other events hosted during the Week was a workshop by Musgrave Group and An Bord Bia on how to get a food product to market, the Clare Student Enterprise Awards, an Energy Cost Saving Seminar and a talk by the Editor of The Sunday Business Post on the exporting opportunities and challenges facing Irish Enterprises.