Anne O’Riordan, SKDP with Irish Local Development Network (ILDN) Enterprise Award (South Region) finalists James Sheehan, James’ Barber Shop (Killorglin) and Kataryna and Tomasz Gwis of K&T Bakery & Cafe (Cahersiveen) and Noel Spillane, CEO SKDP at the IDLN South Enterprise Awards in Cork.
Pic: Diane Cusack
A KERRY business was one of three winners at the regional finals of The Irish Local Development Network (ILDN) Enterprise Awards (South Region).
With stiff competition from entrepreneurs in Waterford, Cork and Kerry, the finalists were chosen based on their commercial and operational success to date. The winning businesses were nominated by their local development companies and many were supported directly by the Back to Work Enterprise Allowance Scheme also.
K&T Bakery in Cahersiveen was deemed a winner along with Loughbeg Farm and Integrate.
K&T Bakery was nominated by South Kerry Development Partnership. Polish couple Katarzyna and Tomasz Gwis are bread making experts with a family heritage in bread making.
They established the K&T Bakery in 2014 in Cahersiveen and have recently opened a Restaurant and Café in the town now also. They employ 15 staff now in total.
Other Kerry nominees were The Gluten Free Kitchen in Tralee, Maura’s Cottage Flowers, Tralee and James’ Barber Shop, Killorglin.
“All the companies and entrepreneurs here today at the ILDN South Enterprise Awardsare winners in reality. With great determination, business acumen and market and product knowledge, these companies have successfully transitioned from startups to successful businesses. The benefit of the support on the ground of local development partnership companies and the Dept. of Social Protection Back to Work schemes they received, is exemplified by the achievement of the Regional Awards today, and congratulations to Loughbeg Farm, Integreat and K&T Bakery for their success,” said Eamonn O’Reilly, Chair of ILDN South Region and CEO of North, East, West Kerry Development (NEWKD).
Hosted at the Ambassador Hotel on Military Hill, Cork, the entrepreneurs and their companies were judged by Veronica Murphy Discovery Partnership, Paul Healy of the CIT Rubicon Centre and Seamus Hayes of Fitzwilliam Training & Consulting.
The three regional winners now go forward to represent the Southern region at the National ILDN Awards which takes place in Dublin on 15 September 2016.
