Retired Irish ambassador, Daniel Mulhall, shares the story behind the awards aimed to foster entrepreneurship and prosperity across the island of Ireland.
The Stelios Foundation, established by Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou, creator and owner of the easy family of brands, has a distinguished history in supporting entrepreneurship, education and cross-community cooperation. Its latest initiative, the North-South Business Cooperation Awards, brings that ethos to Ireland with a prize fund of €500,000 to celebrate and support cross-border business collaboration.
These new awards came about indirectly from a talk I gave at the Princess Grace Irish Library in Monaco, which is supported by Sir Stelios. During a function attended by His Royal Highness Prince Albert at which I spoke about Irish America, Sir Stelios told me of his desire to expand his philanthropy in Ireland by supporting business development there. That was music to my ears. During my 44 years with Ireland’s Department of Foreign Affairs, I always attached priority to economic diplomacy. I take the view that prosperity provides communities with the financial wherewithal to give effect to societal goals and ambitions.
Sir Stelios and I discussed his idea of boosting entrepreneurship in Ireland through North-South business awards modelled on what the Stelios Foundation already does in Cyprus. I was enthusiastic about his idea because of my long-term interest in strengthening cross-border economic ties. I take the view that both parts of Ireland benefit from economic expansion across the border. Economically, we are in it together and can help each other swim in the increasingly-turbulent tide of today’s world. During my time as Ambassador in London and especially in Washington, I cooperated closely with those whose job it was to promote Northern Ireland’s economic interests, which overlapped strongly with the interests I was there to advance.
I was in Belfast in April 1998 for the signing of the Good Friday Agreement. The most important achievement that day was to provide a framework for a lasting peace and a political process to manage relations within Northern Ireland, on the island of Ireland and between Britain and Ireland. I remember too how an economic dividend was keenly anticipated. Although there have been many ups and downs during the past 27 years, Northern Ireland as a whole has derived significant economic benefit from the coming of peace although that has not been felt by all. Those years have also been exceptional ones for the Irish economy which, international disruptions notwithstanding, has recorded consistently-high growth figures. There is, however, still some way to go before we can confidently say that the economic potential of a peaceful Ireland has been fully realised to the benefit of all communities.
Enhanced cross-border flows of trade and investment are important aspects of the Agreement’s economic dividend. Proximity is a powerful driver of business activity. All over Europe there are active cross-border connections that help create and sustain jobs and prosperity for border communities. In Ireland, cross-border economic ties were once stunted by political and security barriers, but are now flourishing. Trade has grown strongly, rising from €2 billion in 1999 to €15 billion today, and with exciting potential for further growth. North-South trade has flourished in all major industrial sectors as well as in agriculture and services. It is estimated that some 81% of cross-border trade is accounted for by SMEs. In a world bedevilled by uncertainties affecting international trade, nearby markets assume greater importance. This makes it essential that the full potential of North-South trade be realised to the benefit of employment, prosperity and community cohesion across this island.
The aim of the North-South Business Cooperation Awards Ireland is to encourage and reward shining examples of cross-border business collaboration. I have been told by InterTrade Ireland that, in the 25 years since its establishment, it has supported more than 60,000 businesses across the island of Ireland which has contributed to the creation of 23,000 jobs. I hope that innovative companies will apply for these new North-South awards and that the collaborations they carry forward will help underpin peace and prosperity in Ireland in the years and decades ahead.
Entries are now invited for the North-South Business Cooperation Awards Ireland from companies engaged in cross-border business collaborations or with a customer base in both parts of Ireland.
Entry Conditions:
- Applicants should preferably comprise of a company registered in the Companies Registration Office (CRO.ie) in Ireland and a company registered with Companies House (Belfast) with the registered office being in Northern Ireland.
- Both companies must be start-ups incorporated in the last five years, 2019 or later.
- Each company should have an entrepreneur, founder or shareholder who owns at least 50% of the shares.
- The two entrepreneurs must be working in a joint business activity on the island of Ireland, across any sector of the economy.
- Each company must have a minimum annual turnover of €200,000 / £160,000 and must employ at least three other staff members, not including the owner.
- Alternatively, companies can apply on their own (without a second team member) if they can demonstrate significant cross-border economic activity, including a customer base in both markets.
Application forms are available at www.stelios.ie and www.stelios.foundation.
Daniel Mulhall is a retired Irish Ambassador and an advisor to the Stelios Foundation.