Belfast Lord Mayor Meets Young Entrepreneurs

Belfast Lord Mayor, Councillor Ryan Murphy has met with six early-stage entrepreneurs from the Good Friday generation taking part in a Young Enterprise NI (YENI) USA Connect mission to Boston and New York this week, funded by United States of America Embassy in the UK.

For over thirty years, Young Enterprise has developed young people’s entrepreneurial skills and ambition to support the entrepreneurial thinkers, leaders and founders of the next generation.

The Lord Mayor said: “It was a pleasure to meet these Young Enterprise Fellows before they embark on their trade mission to our Sister City Boston, and New York. They represent a brand-new generation of entrepreneurs here, who grew up in a more peaceful society, and are committed to building an inclusive, entrepreneurial economy here.

The delegation comprises:

Leon Gibson, board member of Friends of Young Enterprise Northern Ireland, a 501(c) organisation that supports Young Enterprise’s work through US links. From 18-21 years of age, Leon built several nightlife businesses, which continue to run and host over fifty-thousand attendees annually. Leon has since completed a business degree at Queen’s University Belfast and has been investing in deep-tech start-ups through the Creator Fund.

Dr Pragya Sharma, founder of Gran Lab, began her journey in Delhi, India, specialising in Biochemistry and Medicine. With a Doctorate focused on novel drug targets, she now leads Gran Lab in developing steroid-free dermatological solutions for adult psoriasis and paediatric eczema. Pragya is now in the process of bringing this to market and building a biotech export and has been supported through Belfast City Council’s business programmes.

Jordan Graham, founder of Sugar Snap, is a YENI board member and Ambit programme participant. Name-checked during the Presidential speech in Belfast to mark 25 years of the Good Friday Agreement, Jordan’s business is a food sector-specific marketing agency which provides strategy, design and content creation for successful local food eateries and larger clients.

Eva-Jayne Doherty is a community builder in the Irish start-up ecosystem. A committed supporter of entrepreneurs across the island, she has headed up national tech accelerators, pioneered programmes to inspire the emerging generation of entrepreneurs with Young Enterprise NI, and nurtured a community of founders to create scalable, investable businesses. Amongst her fractional support for start-ups, Eva-Jayne is currently working with the AwakenHub, a community of women founders in Ireland, and Regionally Ventures, a national investment service providing capital for regional growth.

Peter Gileece, founder of Vikela Armour, has developed a novel method of layering composite materials using a unique 3-D printing process to produce lighter, stronger and more personalised body armour/protective solutions and has already started taking orders from customers.

Maebh Reynolds, founder of GoPluggable, allows owners of home electric vehicle chargers to rent out their chargers to improve accessibility, affordability, and convenience for customers.