Industry & Business

Rachel McPartlin (pictured) has won the Youth Entrepreneur of the Year Award 2018, organised by Foróige, the leading youth development organisation in Ireland. Rachel took the title with her business Rachel’s Heavenly Homemades, which is a Gluten Free Bakery at affordable prices. Rachel established the business as most of her family are Coeliacs, and because being Coeliac not only limits their food choices, but shopping gluton free is expensive.

Rachel, age 16 from Leitrim, was competing against twelve hundred other young entrepreneurs throughout Ireland. Also at the event CycleSafe, founded by Breda Magner & Evan Condon, from Limerick won the Best Innovation Award for their business which produces a product that helps increase the safety of cyclists at night, by using lasers to create temporary cycle lanes.

A Special Recognition Award was awarded to Davey Feeney, Tom Flanagan and Fraser Gaine who are founders of the business Kard in Sligo. Their business produced a discount student card to help secondary students live within their means. The boys were nominated by their CET Dervilla Casey, a teacher in their school, Summerhill College.

Seán Campbell, CEO Foróige, said: “The Foróige NFTE Entrepreneurship Programme has multiple positive impacts on the young people who take part in it. Career aspirations increase; interest in attending college increases; business knowledge increases; leadership behaviour increases; and a belief that attaining goals is within their control significantly increases.”