Westmeath County Council is pleased to announce the ‘New Enterprise Ideas’ competition, designed to inspire and generate new enterprise development in Westmeath and to stimulate, encourage, and nurture entrepreneurial talent.
The objective of the competition is to encourage new enterprise development and assist in the translation of creative ideas into new projects or ventures. The competition is open to individuals or teams with a business idea they wish to develop, which should be original, be the basis of viable enterprises, and can demonstrate the potential for growth.
Entries will only be accepted from individuals, teams, or companies registered since September 1 2008 and that in any event will not have begun trading by the closing date for receipt of applications on March 13 2009.
The winner will receive access to a rent-free enterprise unit in the new Castlepollard Enterprise Centre, for a period of 12 months. The value of this is an estimated €10,000 dependant on the space that may be required. The winner will also be given expert business advice and support from Westmeath County Enterprise Board to help put their business idea on the road to commercial success.
The competition will have two stages, the first of which will concentrate on the business idea.
This is the essential basis of the business, ie what is the product, who are the customers, what will the business offer them, and why will they buy it. Based on the outline business ideas, finalists will then be selected by the judging panel and invited to submit business plans for the second stage of the competition that will hopefully produce a winning enterprise idea.
To enter the competition, a clear, concise, and convincing outline of the business idea will need to be submitted on the official entry form. Competition guidelines and entry forms can be downloaded from www.westmeathcoco.ie or at www.westmeath-enterprise.ie
