The Midlands welcomed 158 of Ireland’s newest founders and entrepreneurs from Enterprise Ireland’s New Frontiers programme as they gathered at a national networking event, New Frontiers Connects 2026, in the Heritage Hotel in Laois on Wednesday, 11th February.
The New Frontiers Connects 2026 event brought together successful New Frontiers alumni who have gone on to establish and scale their businesses, securing investment and creating employment.
Participants also included investors and industry experts, including Mark Kelly (AI Ireland), Niall McEvoy (Elkstone Capital) and Niamh Sterling (HBAN), all there to inspire and support this latest group of entrepreneurs to help them plan for the next stage in their business journey.
New Frontiers is Ireland’s national programme to develop the entrepreneurial skillset in early-stage founders. The programme, funded by the Irish Government through Enterprise Ireland, is delivered across three phases at a local level by the Technological Universities and Institutes of Technology in 18 locations around Ireland. Here in the Midlands, the programme is delivered at the Technological University of the Shannon in Athlone.
2025 was a strong year for New Frontiers, with almost 500 individuals taking part in Phase 1 of the programme and 158 founders currently in the process of completing Phase 2 of the programme.
A vibrant start-up community driving balanced regional development
Congratulating the graduates, Minister for Small Business, Retail and Employment Alan Dillon said, “The New Frontiers programme has been instrumental in the success of many Irish startup founders, connecting them with a vibrant community of other founders and is a powerful driver of balanced regional development. It supports entrepreneurs in every county, enabling them to grow companies within their communities, create local employment, and contribute to regional economic strength. I wish to congratulate all the graduating entrepreneurs here today. This event gives the participants the opportunity to meet with other fellow founders from across the 13 national programmes, allowing them to build an invaluable network to draw from as they build and grow their businesses.”
Speaking at the event, Jenny Melia, CEO, Enterprise Ireland, said, “The New Frontiers programme was launched in 2012 with the aim of accelerating the development of sustainable new businesses that have strong employment and growth potential, particularly in regional locations. Since then, over 5,000 New Frontiers participants have received funding and intensive support to develop their start-up ideas. Sectors range from cleantech and food products to digital media and medical devices, with many founders going on to develop award-winning businesses to match their global ambition. It is wonderful to see New Frontiers Alumni, investors and recent graduates come together to share expert advice and guidance with those seeking to grow their business. We at Enterprise Ireland look forward to supporting these start-ups and entrepreneurs on their growth journey into the future.”
Attendees at the event engaged with a panel discussion featuring previous New Frontiers alumni, Eóin Tuohy (Sports Impact Technologies) & Richelle Flanagan (My Moves Matter), who shared their journeys and how to navigate the opportunities and challenges of growing a start-up.
Nipun Kathuria from Smile Genius Dental and Maurice Bryson from Silicate Carbon also discussed how companies can build scale.
About the New Frontiers Programme
Enterprise Ireland’s New Frontiers is the nationwide programme for ambitious startup founders with an innovative business idea that has the potential to scale and provide employment.
New Frontiers will equip founders with the right connections, the right skills, and the right route to capital, empowering them to build a successful and sustainable startup business. New Frontiers is a programme of three phases, taking participants up to readiness for pre-seed fundraising. Whatever the business idea or sector (previous alumni come from sectors as diverse as food and drink, consumer products, engineering, medical devices, pharma, digital media, and cleantech), participants will develop a wide range of business skills and get expert guidance from advisors and successful entrepreneurs. All this happens in the supportive environment of a local incubation centre, of which there are 18 nationwide.
Thanks to New Frontiers, thousands of founders in Ireland have developed their connections, confidence, and capital.
Unlike many accelerator programmes, Enterprise Ireland’s New Frontiers programme does not take equity in the business. The focus is on developing the founders’ toolkit, developing skills which can immediately put to work in business (for example, customer research, marketing, or financial planning).
The different phases of New Frontiers bring value at different stages of your startup journey. On each phase, participants benefit from a supportive environment in which to discover the proven tactics, core principles, and best practice behind successful startups.
Providing a comprehensive set of business development supports, funding and networking opportunities, the New Frontiers programme offers expert advice, mentoring and financial support to people with innovative business ideas and is an important pipeline for the Local Enterprise Offices and Enterprise Ireland’s early-stage investment portfolio.
For further information on the New Frontiers programme, go to www.newfrontiers.ie
