Enterprise Causeway recently celebrated its achievement of three honours at this year’s prestigious Social Enterprise Northern Ireland awards.
Now in its 10th year, the awards were established to recognise, commend and promote the individuals and businesses who are creating change and making a positive impact within Northern Ireland and beyond.
With a record number of applications, and over 600 representatives from across the private, public and social enterprise sector attending the ceremony, Enterprise Causeway was thrilled to be presented:
- Leader of the Year 2022 for CEO, Jayne Taggart.
- Best Small Social Enterprise of the Year.
- Best Use of Digital Marketing (Highly Commended) for its social enterprise, The Designerie, Bushmills.
Established in 1984, Enterprise Causeway was created to support, promote and champion local businesses.
Having started out as a converted barn space on the Gateside Road, Coleraine, it now manages property across six sites – Coleraine, Kilrea, Ballymoney, Ballycastle and Bushmills, totalling over 134,250 sq. ft of industrial units, offices and coworking spaces. This collective space accommodates and sustains nearly 110 tenants and small businesses/entrepreneurs, who contribute in excess of £47 million to the local economy, employing 300+ staff.
Enterprise Causewayhas also delivered an extensive range of innovative business support and growth programmes to thousands of aspiring and established local entrepreneurs, including the Go for It, Exploring Enterprise, Immersive Causeway, Venture Causeway,Lead2Grow and Co-Innovate.
It is also responsible for designing and developing flagship projects such as The Designerie, which began as a pop-up shop in the Diamond, Coleraine, in 2015. Since then, and thanks to a prime location in the main street of Bushmills, it has grown into a thriving social enterprise, supportingand promoting over 80 creative local design-makers across NI and Ireland.
Located upstairs is Makers House, home to eight local makers in residence. Locals and visitors have the opportunity to see, first-hand, creative talent at work. Makers House is helping to successfully launch new, and up and coming talent on their entrepreneurial journeys and grow the appreciation and awareness for local artists and markers across Ireland and further afield.
Other flagship projects currently taking place include:
- The €7.8m renovation and extension works to the Courthouse building in Bushmills, transforming it into a creative hub, housing a coffee shop, retail, and community and event space.
- In partnership with the Langholm Group, the Chronicle Press renovation project, which, upon completion, will provide a new digital hub for up-to 200 small/micro and start-up businesses in the centre of Coleraine at the former Chronicle paper offices, vitally helping to contribute to town regeneration and boost the economy.
Expressing her gratitude Jayne Taggart, Chief Executive of Enterprise Causeway, said: “This is such a fantastic achievement for our small, but incredibly hard-working and passionate team, who go that extra mile to support entrepreneurs and small creative businesses across the Causeway area.
“I would also like to mention our Board of Directors, who take time out from running their local businesses to provide strategic direction and advice so that Enterprise Causeway can continue to seek out new opportunities to grow, scale and deliver on its social purpose.
“As we find ourselves in one of the most challenging times of our lifetime, with the cost of doing business and fear of impending recession, we will continue to champion and look for ways to nurture and grow our local entrepreneurs and businesses.”
“A sincere thanks to the to the panel of expert judges for recognising our work and of course, to all of the winners and finalists, who have been doing their bit to champion the businesses and individuals in the social enterprise sector.”
Reflecting on Jayne’s Leader of the Year award, Frances Lundy, Chair of Enterprise Causeway, commented: “Jayne is well reputed for being a highly effective ambassador for the social enterprise sector in NI and is passionate about raising awareness of the transformational impact the sector has on the local economy.
“Jayne continues to build stakeholder relationships and secure funding to deliver innovative projects and initiatives, which seek to advance the social enterprise movement. We need more leaders of Jayne’s calibre to lead others to achieve their dreams and aspirations and provide a platform for them to grow.”
Speaking on The Designerie’s accolade, Zoe Jones, Store Manager, stated: “We are so appreciative of this recognition of our creative and dedicated approach to reaching out too, and engaging with our target audience and customers through our website, social media channels and newsletter.
“Our customers and visitors experience such a unique feeling when they come into the store, so our digital efforts are always striving to capture this feeling to keep people coming back and attracting new customers through our doors.”
