Innovation Arena 2025 in association with Enterprise Ireland and the National Ploughing Association

Enterprise Ireland’s Innovation Arena 2025 in association with the National Ploughing Association 

‘Enterprise Ireland’s Innovation Arena: Showcasing cutting-edge Irish agritech talent and innovation to a global audience’ 

Entries are now open for the 2025 Enterprise Ireland Innovation Arena Awards competition which will return to this year’s National Ploughing Championships (NPC), offering Irish agritech innovators the opportunity to exhibit and compete at one of Europe’s largest outdoor events. 

Enterprise Ireland’s Innovation Arena, hosted in partnership with the National Ploughing Association (NPA), is synonymous with Ireland’s agricultural industry and is an annual must-see exhibition platform. 

Entries are now being accepted for the 2025 Innovation Arena Awards, and there are three categories in this year’s competition;  

The ‘Start-Up Innovator of the Year’ Award includes a €10,000 prize, as well as mentoring and supports from specialist Enterprise Ireland advisors 

The Enterprise Ireland ‘Innovation Arena Champion Award’ is for established companies with a focus on scaling and innovation 

The ‘Green Impact Award’ is for a company whose innovation is focused on sustaining the development of food and farming for future generations.  

Applicants who are successful in their submission and shortlisted may be be offered an exhibition space within the Innovation Arena on site at the NPC, which is being hosted in Screggan, Tullamore, Co Offaly from 16^th to 18^th September.   

Nine finalists will then be selected for this year’s Innovation Arena Awards competition which is held on the first day of the NPC (16^th September), and these nine finalists will be invited to participate in a pitching competition in front of a panel of judges and live audience at the Innovation Arena. 

There will be an opportunity for participants from the competition in recent years to apply for a spot in the popular ‘Agritech Hub’, which also returns to Innovation Arena at this year’s NPC. This Enterprise Ireland hosted exhibition space gives Irish agritech entrepreneurs the important opportunity to exhibit within the Innovation Arena to an audience which includes domestic and international visitors and buyers, as the NPC typically attracts more than 240,000 visitors each year. 

Enterprise Ireland’s new strategy ‘Delivering for Ireland, Leading Globally’ outlines our commitment to creating opportunities across every region and county in Ireland, and agritech entrepreneurs are at the heart of that by delivering direct and indirect job creation, developing unique and innovative solutions for global challenges, and strengthening communities and regions.  

The annual Innovation Arena is an important part of that, as this initiative is focused on fostering the development of agritech innovators, entrepreneurs, research and academia who delivering cutting-edge solutions with the potential to drive positive change and innovation in the Irish agriculture sector, delivering efficiencies on farms and supporting more sustainable practices, which can help to futureproof the industry for generations to come.   

The deadline for entries for this year’s Innovation Arena competition is 5pm on Friday 6^th June. 

Apply here for the 2025 Enterprise Ireland Innovation Arena competition