EY Entrepreneur Of The Year – Social Entrepreneurs Ireland Sponsorship

EY has today announced a new sponsorship of Social Entrepreneurs Ireland (SEI). The sponsorship will see EY supporting Social Entrepreneurs Ireland in their mission to help change the lives of people around the country, through hands on work mentoring, financially supporting and advising social entrepreneurs.

SEI is the country’s leading organisation dedicated to supporting social entrepreneurs – people who are focused on developing new, innovative solutions to address the entrenched social and environmental challenges we face. Since its foundation in 2004, SEI has worked with more than 260 social entrepreneurs across a huge range of sectors. Currently, the work of SEI alumni including FoodCloud, Irish Men’s Shed’s Association and CoderDojo, is directly impacting the lives of over 1.7 million people across the country.

The key elements of the sponsorship will see EY experts work alongside social entrepreneurs on a pro-bono basis, developing skills such as business planning, finance, performance improvement and innovation. It is hoped that these consultancy sessions will allow social entrepreneurs to implement a solid foundation from which they can go on to bring about social change in Ireland. Members of the EY Entrepreneur Of The Year™ alumni network, of which there are now more than 500, will mentor social entrepreneurs and pass on some of the business and leadership skills they will need on their journey. Alongside the mentorship aspect, alumni of the EY Entrepreneur Of The Year™ programme will be involved in SEI judging and selection panels, including: Peaches Kemp (itsa), Kevin O’Loughlin (Nostra), David Roynane (Mainport), Aldagh McDonogh (Morgan McKinley) and Paul Young (Cartoon Saloon).

Commenting on the sponsorship, Kevin McLoughlin, Partner Lead, EY Entrepreneur Of The Year™ said: “This sponsorship is something new for us and expands on our EY purpose of Building a Better Working World. Many of the EY Entrepreneur Of The Year alumni network are already heavily involved in social enterprise and have worked with SEI in the past.   Our EY colleagues will share their expertise with the SEI Awardees, with the hope of helping them upskill and giving them the tools they need to develop into the future. SEI programmes have been a fantastic launch pad for so many social enterprises. We hope our support will help bring about more change, faster.”

Peaches Kemp, Chairperson, EY Entrepreneur Of The Year™ Alumni Board and Founder of itsa said: “When the alumni community was first presented with the opportunity to get involved with SEI, we were extremely enthusiastic. Our group has a long collective history and a shared passion for addressing social issues. This sponsorship will give us a chance to share some of the experience we have gained over the years, and hopefully give the social entrepreneurs some shortcuts to success. Working alongside social entrepreneurs gives us the chance to have a real impact on the world around us, something I’ve always found incredibly rewarding.”

Darren Ryan, CEO, Social Entrepreneurs Ireland said: “This sponsorship represents the bringing together of Ireland’s largest network of social entrepreneurs – the SEI community, with Ireland’s largest network of entrepreneurs – the EY Entrepreneur Of The Year™ community. SEI is grateful and excited to see our social entrepreneurs benefit from this mentoring and skill-sharing, from both the EY Entrepreneur Of The Year™ network and EY staff, as they work to change Ireland for the better.”