Social Entrepreneurs Ireland

The NTR Foundation is a flagship sponsor of Social Entrepreneurs Ireland’s Annual Awards Ceremony and awardees. In keeping with NTR’s entrepreneurial heritage, which has been central to the company’s growth, diversification and success over the past 30 years, the NTR Foundation supports projects that address the issues of climate change, resource sustainability and security of energy supply in an entrepreneurial way.  As such, the NTR Foundation recognises the importance of nurturing entrepreneurs, particularly those with a social cause. 

Support of the SEI Awards Programme has extended to become a companywide programme for NTR, where employees act as advisors to Award recipients and play an active role in the Awards application review and selection process. 

“The NTR Foundation is delighted to support the 2010 Social Entrepreneurs Ireland Awards and those who have the desire and vision to effect social change.”Tanya Harrington

The field of social entrepreneurship in Ireland has grown in the past five years and in 2010, Social Entrepreneurs Ireland decided to change their awards offering based on what they have learned in this time. Their new High Impact Programme is targeted at high potential, early stage social entrepreneurs with 6 finalists and 3 awardees per year. Through the High Impact Programme SEI can increase their focus on and financial and non-financial support to these high potential social entrepreneurs.

The NTR Foundation sponsored Annual Awards Ceremony showcases the work of Ireland’s leading social entrepreneurs and encourages others to become part of the growing social entrepreneurship movement. Since launching in 2005, Social Entrepreneurs Ireland has made awards to 142 social entrepreneurs, directly investing over €3.44m into supporting these exceptional individuals. They in turn have directly helped over 168,000 people and indirectly helped another 300,000 people.

The 2010 SEI Awards Ceremony took place on October 1st in Dublin, where a call went out for greater public and private support for social entrepreneurship.

This year’s awardees were singer Frances Black, founder of the RISE Foundation, Dara Hogan who set up Fledglings Early Years Education & Care and John Lawlor, who created and developed the Bridge to College (B2C) Programme

I see social entrepreneurism as potentially one of the most important structural possibilities that has arisen in the history of capitalism. A lot of people feel there is space for a new form of corporate structure that allows shareholders sit easily alongside stakeholders. The world is at a crossroads, we face enormous challenges and the question is can we rise to the challenge and change certain things to make our own lives and the world we live in more agreeable.”Tim Smit, Founder of the Eden Project and Guest Speaker at the 2010 SEI Awards Ceremony

For further information on Social Entrepreneurs Ireland and to find out more about this year’s award winners, please visit www.socialentrepreneurs.ie.