Nationwide Competition For People With Ideas To Tackle Social Issues
SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURS IRELAND reissued the call for ambitious individuals with ideas and projects to tackle social problems, to apply to the Social Entrepreneurs Ireland Awards 2018, supported by DCC plc, as the application deadline approaches. The deadline has been extended to March 23rd at 5pm. Those interested in applying are encouraged to log on to socialentreprenuers.ie.
With just days to go to the deadline for applications, Social Entrepreneurs Ireland today announced that additional funds have now been added to this year’s competition pot for aspiring social entrepreneurs with ideas to solve social problems in Ireland. Successful applicants to the Academy programme, will now also have the chance to pitch for part of a 20,000 EURO funding pot to bring their idea to the next level.
Speaking at the call for applications, Darren Ryan, CEO of Social Entrepreneurs Ireland said,
‘People are used to innovation in the commercial sector, but for Ireland to be in a position to tackle the challenges we face as a country, we need to support energetic people with entrepreneurial ideas, to take a different approach to solving social issues.’
Previous winners of funding and support include FoodCloud, which has to date delivered over 25 million meals to people in need; The Irish Men’s Sheds Association which now has over 400 sheds around the country, working with more than 10,000 men every week; and CoderDojo, which has been a worldwide success.
There will be up to 8 winners in the Awards category, which supports people with existing projects aimed at solving a social problem. The Award is valued at 25,000 euro, with 10,000 euro in direct funding, and potential for further funding and investment following the programme.
Up to 30 people with early-stage ideas will win a place at the Academy for Social Entrepreneurs where they will receive mentoring and support and the opportunity to pitch for seed funding, to spark their idea into action. The organisation also announced that it is launching a new Academy for Social Entrepreneurs in Galway, expanding its range of programmes due to the high quantity of applications received last year when Social Entrepreneurs Ireland first launched the Academy programme. So now there will be one programme in the East (Dublin) and one in the West (Galway).
DCC plc, the international sales, marketing and support services group, is the flagship supporter of the Social Entrepreneurs Ireland Awards. Speaking at the launch of applications Donal Murphy, CEO of DCC plc, said:
‘We take great pride in our role as flagship sponsor of the annual Social Entrepreneurs Ireland Awards. DCC has backed commercially focused entrepreneurship for more than 40 years and we equally believe in the creativity and passion of Irish social entrepreneurs to make a significant contribution to solving our greatest challenges as a society.’
Applications for the Awards programme and the Academy are now open and will close at 5pm on March 23rd. Interested candidates can apply or find out more at www.socialentrepreneurs.ie