The SFA National Small Business Awards 2019 have been officially launched by Awards Patron, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar. The aim of the awards is to celebrate the achievements of small business in Ireland and to recognise the vital contribution of the small business community to the Irish economy.
Small firms – employing less than 50 people – have from September 3rd until October 19th 2018 to enter free of charge on www.sfa.ie/awards.
Speaking at the launch, Taoiseach Varadkar said: “The SME sector is crucial to the success of the Irish economy making a huge contribution to jobs and economic growth. Each of these jobs is the result of enterprising and determined people who have turned ideas into businesses, creating employment and injecting life into our cities, towns and villages. These owner managers and their employees work incredibly hard and make an important contribution to their local communities and our economy. The SFA National Small Business Awards are a great way to showcase the many success stories. They provide a fantastic opportunity to recognise and celebrate the achievements of small firms across the different sectors.”
Sven Spollen-Behrens, SFA Director, commented: “Today we launch the 15th edition of the SFA National Small Business Awards. The last 15 years have seen dramatically changing fortunes for our economy. Through it all, small businesses have remained the backbone of the Irish economy, showing great commitment, resilience and innovation. These awards are an important recognition of the achievements of small businesses and an opportunity to celebrate their success. Previous overall winners have come from each of the four provinces and from sectors such as food, manufacturing, biotechnology and many others. The search is now on to find the best small business in Ireland for 2019.”
The Awards are free to enter and the prize package for all finalists is valued at €50,000. It includes a strategic management masterclass weekend, exhibition space at a major business conference, as well as broad-ranging national and local media coverage. Finalists also receive five complementary tickets to the gala prize giving ceremony which will take place in the RDS in March 2019 when the category winners and overall winner will be announced. The category winners will be presented with a trophy and one year’s free membership of the Small Firms Association. The overall winner will also receive a bursary of €5,000 to present to a charity of their choice (funded by the 2013 Overall Winner, Megazyme International Ireland).
Entries to the awards will be accepted until 5.30pm on Friday October 19th and entry forms are available online at www.sfa.ie/awards.
Pictured above: Sue O’Neill, SFA Chair, Sven Spollen-Behrens, SFA Director and Taoiseach Leo Varadkar
