Seamus awarded for marginalised project
A Templeudigan man who was involved in an innovative, ground-breaking programme to help marginalised groups become more self sufficient, was part of a team which came in runners-up at the European Commission’s European Enterprise Promotion Awards.
Seamus Doran works with Local Enterprise Office Laois, the support agency for micro-enterprises in Co. Laois. The agency were announced as category runners up in the finals which were held in Graz, Austria last Tuesday night.
The European Enterprise Promotion Awards recognise outstanding projects from across Europe which work to support entrepreneurs and small businesses in six different categories. Each country can nominate a maximum of two projects to the European Enterprise Promotion Awards final.
One of the projects was the Laois Start Your Own Business programme delivered by LEO Laois which was successful in the ‘Responsible and Inclusive Entrepreneurship’ category. This is the first time ever that a Local Enterprise Office has been chosen to represent Ireland at the finals of this prestigious European final which adds to the scale of Laois’s success.
Local Enterprise Office Laois, led by Seamus, took an innovative approach to engaging with marginalised groups over the past two years by adopting mainstream Start Your Own Business programmes to meet their identified needs. Among the initiatives undertaken in that time were a Start Your Own Business programme aimed at people aged 55 and above, the first Start Your Own Business programmes delivered in both the Midlands Prison and Portlaoise Prison as well as the first Start Your Own Business programme in Ireland delivered in an asylum seeker direct provision centre.
The finals are organised on an annual basis by the European Commission as the centrepiece of European SME Week. Local Enterprise Office Laois were represented at last night’s final by Evelyn Reddin, Head of Enterprise and Séamus Doran, Business Advisor. Seamus said he was deeply honoured to be part of the first Local Enterprise Office ever to be selected to represent Ireland at the European Enterprise Promotion Awards.