Stars of Small Business Community To Be Honoured At Awards Dinner

Northern Ireland Enterprise Awards 2016

The search is on to find the stars of Northern Ireland’s small business community with the launch of the Northern Ireland Enterprise Awards 2016 in association with Ulster Bank.



The awards aim to highlight the work done by the small business community and the efforts of the local enterprise agency network that supports business development.



Taking place in Belfast on Thursday 1st December, the special guest speaker for the evening will be British entrepreneur Lara Morgan.



Chief Executive of Enterprise Northern Ireland, Gordon Gough, said today:



“These awards are also an excellent chance to recognise the hard work and dedication of businesses and members of the Enterprise Northern Ireland network. Whether it is through offering business support or highlighting alternative methods of access to finance, our network of enterprise agencies is playing an important role in growing Northern Ireland’s economy.



“Our main award on the evening will be the Business Start Up of the Year. Last year’s winner, Holohan’s at the Barge, has went on to open a second restaurant near Queen’s University and is a truly successful family-run business. Like many past winners of this award, their business has continued to flourish and we want to celebrate the success of our local start-ups.”



This year’s awards will see the introduction of two new awards honouring the Technology and Food & Drink sectors.



Mr Gough explained: “In light of 2016 being the Northern Ireland Year of Food and Drink, Enterprise Northern Ireland felt it important to both showcase the incredible artisan food and drink producers we have in the province, hence why we have created a new award this year. We have world class artisan produce here in Northern Ireland and now is our chance to show it to the world.”



Jenna Stevenson, founder of bitetosavour.com, independent champion of the artisan food and drink sector in Northern Ireland commented:



“We are delighted that Enterprise Northern Ireland has committed to launching this award as the artisan food and drink producers are often some of the hardest working, yet overlooked folks in the NI food sector. We punch above our weight in this space, winning more Great Taste Awards per capita than anywhere else in the UK. Now is the time to tell our story to a bigger audience.”



Chris McVeigh, Head of Business Banking Unit at Ulster Bank, the headline sponsor of the Awards said:



“Entrepreneurs and small businesses put their heart and soul into their ventures, and we’re really pleased to be supporting these awards to give them deserved recognition for their efforts and their success.



“We have a proud history of supporting start-up and scale-up businesses to achieve their ambitions. Through finance, advice and taking the time to really understand our customers’ business, we’re committed to making it easier for businesses to grow and thrive in a sustainable way.”



To apply click here: https://www.enterpriseni.com/pages/68/download-applications-here or head to the Enterprise NI website and follow the links.



Photo Caption: Pictured at the launch of the Northern Ireland Enterprise Awards 2016 are (L-R): Chris McVeigh, Head of Business Banking Unit at Ulster Bank; Jenna Stevenson, founder of bitetosavour.com and Chief Executive of Enterprise Northern Ireland, Gordon Gough. Taking place in Belfast on Thursday 1st December, the special guest speaker for the evening will be British entrepreneur Lara Morgan.



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