Mayo business set to shine at National Ploughing Championships
A Ballinrobe chocolatier will get the chance to exhibit to almost 300,000 people at the National Ploughing Championships in Screggan, Co Offaly next week as part of the Local Enterprise Village.
Van Velze’s Chocolates, supported by Local Enterprise Office Mayo, is an Irish artisan chocolatier creating premium handmade chocolates with rare cocoa and fine Irish ingredients. Established in 2023, the company specialises in elegant personal, retail and corporate gifts designed to deliver a memorable luxury chocolate experience. Van Velze’s website can be viewed here.
The Local Enterprise Village is an area within the ploughing championships, where the Local Enterprise Offices enable over 30 small businesses from across the country to exhibit from September 15 to 17.
This year the Local Enterprise Village will also have a business advice hub for any budding entrepreneurs or existing businesses who want to get advice from the local enterprise offices specialist business advisors. So, for anyone who has a business idea that wants to figure out how to get it off the ground or for someone with an existing business who may want advice on funding, sustainability or building digital and AI into their business, there will be advisors on hand to meet with.
The Google AI team’s experts will also be in the Local Enterprise Village with an interactive area focused on making AI work for you and your business.
Enterprise Europe Network will also be based in the village for the first time, giving advice to businesses who want to begin looking at new markets across the EU.
John Magee, Head of Enterprise, at Mayo County Council said: “This is a chance for a Ballinrobe business to show off their products to almost 300,000 potential customers. The Local Enterprise Village has become a magnet for people looking to find their local business and/or see what they can pick up.
“This year we are developing the offering to small businesses who visit the Local Enterprise Village with our start-up advisor hub. This is along with the Google AI team on site in the village to guide businesses on how to integrate AI into their day-to-day work flow and the Enterprise Europe Network to help open new doors across the EU, there is assistance there across the board.
“Whatever you are interested in, there is something for everyone at the Local Enterprise Village.”
With some of the biggest companies and organisations in Ireland taking up residence at the ploughing championships every year, the Local Enterprise Village continues to be a popular destination on the site for those looking to pick up something unique to bring home from some of the best small businesses in Ireland.
The Local Enterprise Village will showcase the very best of Irish entrepreneurship and will house businesses across all sectors from clothing, craft and artisanal food to bovine genetics and woodwork machinery.
The Local Enterprise Village is just one of a number of initiatives that the Local Enterprise Offices run, to foster entrepreneurship across the country. Others include Local Enterprise Week, the National Enterprise Awards, the Student Enterprise Programme, National Women’s Enterprise Day and Local Enterprise Showcase. The Local Enterprise Offices in local authorities are funded by the Government of Ireland through Enterprise Ireland.
Established in 2014, the Local Enterprise Offices are the essential resource for any entrepreneur looking to start a business or any small business that is looking for support or advice to help them grow. Since their inception in 2014, the Local Enterprise Offices have helped create over 80,000 jobs across the country.
The LEOs work with thousands of client companies across Ireland in a diverse range of sectors offering mentoring, training, expert advice and financial supports to small businesses. For more information visit here.