The Design and Crafts Council Ireland has launched the Irish Business Design Challenge in partnership with the Department of Business, Innovation and Enterprise, the Local Enterprise Offices and Enterprise Ireland.
The Irish Business Design Challenge is a competition in which micro, small and medium Irish businesses (MSMEs ) across all sectors in Westmeath and around the country are invited to share the challenges they are experiencing as a result of COVID-19 and the solutions they have designed to resolve and adapt to the current environment.
The aim of the Irish Business Design Challenge is to recognise the resilience and innovation of MSMEs in a year which has proven to be challenging for businesses as a result of Covid-19. The competition will profile a selection of businesses over a number of weeks, during which an expert panel of judges and members of the public will have the chance to vote for their ‘hero business’. Dearbhail McDonald, Author and Broadcaster, will chair the expert judging panel.
The Irish Business Design Challenge is open to three categories of business including micro (1 – 10 employees ), small (11 – 50 employees ) and medium sized (51 - 250 employees ). There is an overall prize fund in excess of €50,000, with a €15,000 first prize for the winner of each category and €2,000 for the runner-up in each category.
Christine Charlton, Local Enterprise Office Westmeath, is encouraging businesses to enter prior to the October 28 closing date.
“In the Local Enterprise Office, we are in the privileged position to work with some of the most innovative small businesses in the county and for many of them, intelligent design is at the core of what they do. In recent months, we have seen this come to the fore as many have had to redesign their existing products, or pivot to new ones linked to their supply chain. The Irish Business Design Challenge, which is supported by Local Enterprise Offices, is a fantastic way to recognise these businesses and highlight some of the innovative and brilliant design that is out there across our county. We would encourage every small business in Westmeath to take a look at this competition and see how they can benefit from entering,” Ms Charlton said.
The Irish Business Design Challenge is open for entries until 28th October 2020.
