The Innovation Arena Awards competition has opened for entries at this year’s National Ploughing Championships.Entries for the awards, sponsored by Enterprise Ireland, will be open until 6 June and will showcase innovative solutions from Irish agritech companies and innovators to visitors over the course of the three-day event.
The Innovation Arena Awards competition has opened for entries at this year’s National Ploughing Championships.
Entries for the awards, sponsored by Enterprise Ireland, will be open until 6 June and will showcase innovative solutions from Irish agritech companies and innovators to visitors over the course of the three-day event.
Applications are being invited from Irish-owned companies, research and academia, who are delivering solutions with the potential to drive positive change in the Irish agriculture sector, delivering efficiencies on farms and supporting sustainable practices.
Carol Gibbons, head of entrepreneurship, regions and local enterprise at Enterprise Ireland, said that Ireland has a world-famous reputation in agriculture, so it’s not surprising that Irish innovators are increasingly global leaders in their field.
“Enterprise Ireland’s new strategy ‘Delivering for Ireland, Leading Globally’ outlines our commitment to creating opportunities across every region and county in Ireland, and agritech entrepreneurs are at the heart of that by delivering direct and indirect job creation, developing unique and innovative solutions for global challenges and strengthening communities and regions.”
Categories
There are three categories in this year’s competition, and the ‘Start-Up Innovator of the Year’ award includes a €10,000 prize as well as mentoring and supports from specialist Enterprise Ireland advisers.
The Enterprise Ireland ‘Innovation Arena Champion Award’ is for established companies with a focus on scaling and innovation, while the ‘Green Impact Award’ is for a company whose innovation is focused on sustaining the development of food and farming for future generations.
James Maloney, Innovation Arena manager at Enterprise Ireland, said that with increasing expectations in relation to sustainability and costs, it has never been more important for the agricultural sector to be agile.
“The Innovation Arena has become an institution in the agritech calendar each year, as it gives Irish agritech entrepreneurs the opportunity to meet face to face with potential customers and key stakeholders from across the industry as the NPC is a marquee international event.”
Entries for the awards, sponsored by Enterprise Ireland, will be open until 6 June and will showcase innovative solutions from Irish agritech companies and innovators to visitors over the course of the three-day event. \ Philip Doyle
Applications
Applicants who are successful in their submission and shortlisted will automatically be offered an exhibition space within the Innovation Arena on site at the NPC, which is being hosted in Screggan, Tullamore, Co Offaly from 16 to 18 September.
Nine finalists will then be selected for this year’s Innovation Arena Awards competition which is held on the first day of the NPC, and these nine finalists will be invited to participate in a pitching competition in front of a panel of judges and live audience at the Innovation Arena.
In addition, there will be an opportunity for participants from the competition in recent years to apply for a spot in the popular ‘Agritech Hub’, which returns to the Innovation Arena at this year’s NPC.
“These Irish innovators are so important to the future of this sector, with their forward-thinking technologies helping to futureproof agriculture in a sustainable way, for generations to come,” added Anna May McHugh, NPA managing director.
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