Ben & Jerry’s Seek Irish Social Entrepreneur: €10,000 Reward

Ben & Jerry’s ice cream have launched a new campaign to seek out Ireland’s top “socially responsible entrepreneur” with a €10,000 cash prize coupled with mentoring and a your name on a tub of Ben & Jerry’s 2013 produce. Entrants need to be living in the UK, Ireland, Denmark, Sweden or the Netherlands, and be aged between 18 and 34.

The Join Our Core campaign is

…a search for Europe’s brightest young minds and offers an opportunity for entrepreneurs with a passion for sustainability to change the way business is done in Europe.

The 5 ultimate winners will scoop a €10,000 cash prize, mentoring from Ashoka and the chance to see their name on tubs of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream in 2013. Ashoka is an organisation leading transformation in society; it searches the world for innovative social entrepreneurs and provides them with support and strategic counsel.

Want to know more? Read on…

Ben & Jerry’s is looking for talented individuals from across Ireland who can create a business that embraces the ice cream pioneers’ philosophy. Successful entrants will get the chance to pitch their business idea to a panel of industry leaders – including Ben & Jerry’s Co-Founder Jerry Greenfield, and representatives from Ashoka, VSO (International Development Organisation) and The Fairtrade Foundation (Independent Certification Body).

The first 100 ‘keen beans’, who enter by March 15th, will all scoop the equivalent of a year supply of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream, 25 entrepreneurial semi-finalists will then be invited to present their ideas to the judging panel in London. Three Irish finalists will be chosen by the panel, along with 12 other European candidates to be whisked off to Africa to share their social business ideas and help local development. There will also be a ‘People’s Choice Award’, where the ‘Join Our Core’ community will pick five winners who will each receive €1,000 in cash.

“Join Our Core is about driving positive change that could help individuals around the world,” says Ilaria Ida, Ben & Jerry’s European Social Mission Manager. “We would love to see more socially-minded start-ups making a difference and showing that values-led businesses can prosper even in tough economic times.”