It was announced today that the third AIB Start-up Academy Summit will take place in Dublin’s Smock Alley Theatre on Thursday February 2nd at 6pm. Having visited Galway and Cork in recent weeks, Dublin is the latest stop on the AIB Start-up Academy’s whistle stop tour of the country’s start-up communities. 

Now in its third year, the AIB Start-up Academy comprises of a competition to win an intensive 8-week training programme and ultimately €200k worth of a prize package, a nationwide series of regional summits and tailored bootcamps, all of which have been designed to help start-ups take their business to the next level regardless of their level of experience or stage of development.

Hosted by broadcaster Jonathan McCrea, the summit will bring together local start-ups, business influencers and experts from Dublin and the wider Leinster region for an evening of invaluable learning and networking opportunities. 
 
Attendees at Smock Alley can also avail of expert advice from AIB Start-up Academy Summit partners Google, Grant Thornton, The Irish Times and BCSG, who will be offering one-on-one consultations as well as sharing free tools and tips for getting your business up and running.

In addition, three start-ups will be pitching for one of the final four places on the 2017 AIB Start-up Academy competition. Ten start-ups have already been chosen for the competition which provides participants with an intensive 8-week business mentoring programme, culminating with a final pitch event in April where the winning start-up will receive a prize package valued at €200,000
 
Furthermore, joining Jonathan McCrea on Thursday evening for an informative panel discussion on start-ups will be John Kavanagh, proprietor of Straight Blast Gym and coach to Conor McGregor, Sonya Lennon, founder of Frock Advisor and co-founder of the Lennon Courtney clothing range and Niall McGarry, founder of Joe.ie and owner of Maximum Media. 
 
AIB Group Propositions and Brand Director, Brian Keating said, "We’re delighted to be welcoming so many talented entrepreneurs and start-up enterprises to the third AIB Start-up Academy Summit of 2017. It’s no secret that there’s a thriving start-up community in Dublin and the surrounding areas, fronted by brave and dedicated business people."

He added, "The central aim for the evening is that everyone who attends will take away something which helps them grow their business, whether it be an anecdote relayed during the panel discussion, expert advice or a free business tool from our partners or a new business contact."

Source: www.businessworld.ie