The short-listed contestants represent a wide variety of industry sectors and come from both Northern Ireland and the Republic, writes Jamie Smyth
Twenty-four Irish entrepreneurs will compete for the coveted title of Entrepreneur of the Year at an event sponsored by Ernst & Young in September.
The contestants have been shortlisted from more than 140 nominations received by the programme's judging panel, which is chaired by Mr Denis O'Brien.
The entrepreneurs represent a wide variety of industry sectors and are based in both Northern Ireland and the Republic. The largest number of successful nominations, 11, are for Dublin-based companies.
Two of the shortlisted participants are from Belfast, two are from Cork and two are from Kilkenny. The remaining entrants are from counties Antrim, Louth, Meath, Galway and Wexford.
Over the next four months the 24 entrepreneurs will have their stories profiled in print and broadcast media and they will participate in a number of social and business networking events.
The Entrepreneur of the Year programme runs a number of forums for the 24 participants which focus on key business development challenges. The programme includes roundtables and mentoring discussions to help the entrepreneurs take their business to the next level.
This year it has also introduced a feature called the "Entrepreneur CEO Retreat in Boston". This enables the entrepreneurs to travel to Boston to access the MIT Entrepreneurial centre, which provides support in knowledge-based sectors.
The Entrepreneur of the Year contest is in its seventh year. The winner will be announced at an awards banquet on September 23rd in the Burlington Hotel and will represent Ireland at the World Entrepreneur of the Year awards.
Previous winners are: Mr Denis O'Brien; Ms Moya Doherty and Mr John McColgan; Mr Eddie Jordan; Mr Martin McVicar; Mr Padraig O'Ceidigh; and Mr Liam Shanahan.
The competition is sponsored by The Irish Times, RTÉ, Enterprise Ireland, Invest Northern Ireland, InterTradeIreland and Shannon Development. The judging panel comprises 12 prominent Irish businessmen and women, including Ms Angela Kennedy of Megaztme International, Mr Pat McDonagh of Riverdeep and Mr Liam Shanahan of Shanahan Engineering.
