About the Awards
By entering the Ulster Bank Business Achievers Awards 2010 you will have the opportunity to be one of our provincial winners in Leinster, Ulster, Munster and Connaught in one of our eight award categories. You will also compete to be our overall national Ulster Bank Business Achiever Award winner for 2010!
You can enter the awards from August 1st 2010 by going to the ‘Enter the 2010 Awards’ section of this site and completing the on-line application form.
For helpful advice, please view this short video that will provide you with Tips on Completing your Application Form
Entries are open to all businesses north and south of the border regardless of size, location, sector or turnover. There are eight categories in total and businesses can enter a maximum of two of these categories choosing the ones that best match their business description and profile.
- Innovation and Emerging Technology Award*
This category is for businesses with innovative and technology based products or services. Regarded as high potential start-ups (must be less than three years old), the businesses in this category must have strong growth and export potential. The judges will be looking at a combination of what the business has achieved to date and the plans it has to expand, grow and develop in the future particularly on international markets. - International Business Award
Achieving and being competitive and profitable on an international scale is important given the nature of our small, open and export led economy. This award recognizes the challenges of competing in the international marketplace and will reward the business who is succeeding with an export led product/ service strategy. - Social Entrepreneurship Award
This category is for businesses with a firm focus on addressing the social based challenges that we face today. Not motivated by profit, the entrepreneurs involved in these organizations have a strong social conscience and are inspired by achieving wider social objectives. - Best Business Start-up Award*
If you have embarked on your entrepreneurial journey in the past three years, regardless of the size, sector or location of your business, this awards category is for you. The judges will be interested to hear about your motivations for starting the business and how you have grown and developed the business through the start-up phase. - Family Run Business Award
Family businesses face many challenges including increased international competition, changing technology, succession planning and difficult economic conditions domestically. The award winner in this category will be the business that epitomizes the characteristics of this important sector. - Green Business Award
This category is for businesses who are involved in the growing environmental and green sectors of our economy, who can demonstrate clear environmental benefits from the use of their product and/ or service. The winner of this award will have enjoyed business success for physical products with environmental advantages or success in environmental advisory and allied green service sectors. - Agriculture, Food & Drink Award
Recognised as a cornerstone for our economic development comprising of 6% of total industrial sector output in Ireland and some 10% of total exports, this category recognises the achievements of companies succeeding in the agriculture, food & drink sectors of the economy. - Service Business Awards
Services contribute an estimated 60% of value-add to the Irish economy and over 40% of services produced here are exported. This award will recognise the innovators and leading service delivery companies in this important sector. If you’re a professional services firm, services based franchise, an on-line/ technology based service firm or involved in the retail, financial services (or any other area of the service economy) and have a strong export potential or track record, this category is for you.
* Businesses started in 2008, 2009 and 2010 only are eligible for these categories.
- Provincial Judging Process
Once the closing date for entries of 30th November 2010 has passed, applicants will automatically enter our provincial judging process in Leinster, Munster, Ulster and Connaught based on the business address of the company. Provincial judging will take place between December 2010 and January 2011. Our provincial judging panels are made up of industry experts and successful local entrepreneurs. The panels will shortlist three companies** in each of the eight award categories who will be invited to a provincial awards lunch in late January and early February 2011.One winner in each category is announced at each of the provincial awards lunches who then advance to the national judging process where all 32 companies will be put before our national judging panel.
** Please note that if you’re a shortlisted provincial finalist you will be asked to submit additional financial information about your company ahead of the provincial awards. Specifically a set of up to date accounts and/ or projections will be required.
- National Judging Process
As part of our national judging process, each of the 32 provincial winners is visited by a filming crew and must complete a three minute pitch to camera outlining details of their business, future plans for the business and why they deserve to win a national award. The national judging panel is chaired by a high profile entrepreneur each year (Padraig O’Ceidigh in 2008 and Paul Kerley in 2009) and is also made up of representatives from our awards partners. The national judging panel review the pitches of the businesses (along with the previously submitted application form and financial information) and choose the national award winners in each of the eight categories along with the overall national Ulster Bank Business Achievers Award winner.The 32 finalists will be invited to a gala awards event on Thursday 14th April 2011 at the Mansion House in Dublin where the winners in each category and the overall national Ulster Bank Business Achievers Award winner will be announced.
