Fullscreen Menu - Background
HomeAbout UsBlog (Articles)Issues (Magazine)Our AwardsGet In TouchAdvertise With Us
Subscribe to SME News Search for an article Our amazing team

Ground Floor, Suites B-D, The Maltsters,
1-2 Wetmore Road, Burton upon Trent
Staffordshire, DE14 1LS

What would you like to search for?
Background
SME News proudly presents...

Northern Irish Enterprise Awards (2024)

SME News is proud to announce the return of the Northern Irish Enterprise Awards. Now in its second year, this prestigious award celebrates and honours the exceptional businesses and entrepreneurs that define Northern Ireland's dynamic business landscape.

Mouse Scroll AnimationScroll to keep reading
Hexagons
Fixed Badge - Right
northern irish enterprise awards.

Home  »  Awards  »  Northern Irish Enterprise Awards

Meet our amazing team

The Nomination Team can assist with answering any queries that you have regarding a nomination, or the process involved in taking part in one of our award programmes.

Please get in touch with us via email or over the phone if you have any questions - we are happy to help!

Meet The Team
Our Amazing Team - AI Global Media
Key Dates - Award
Key Dates

Entries Open:Wednesday 9th October 2024

Entries Close:Friday 15th November 2024

Winners Announced:February 2025

About the SME Northern Irish Enterprise Awards

SME News is proud to announce the return of the Northern Irish Enterprise Awards. Now in its second year, this prestigious award celebrates and honours the exceptional businesses and entrepreneurs that define Northern Ireland’s dynamic business landscape.

Northern Ireland’s economic forecast for 2024 is marked by promising growth and stability, setting the stage for a strong year ahead. The economic outlook is hopeful, with wage growth expected to outpace inflation. Forecasts indicate that wages will increase by 2.3 percent this year, driven by continued labour market pressures and robust financial growth. This positive trend is anticipated to accelerate further, bolstering economic stability and enhancing the purchasing power of workers across the region.

The Northern Irish business landscape shines through its key industries: Retail, Construction, and Science. The Retail sector thrives with innovative consumer experiences and digital growth, while Construction drives economic development with ambitious infrastructure projects and sustainable building practices. The Scientific Industry – with significant advancements in research and development across various fields from biotechnology and pharmaceuticals to environmental science – is home to cutting-edge innovations that contribute to global scientific progress.

The Northern Irish Enterprise Awards 2024 provides a premier platform to highlight these outstanding contributions. The award applauds the innovation, resilience, and dedication of businesses that drive financial growth and enrich the region’s profile on the world stage.

Participating in the Northern Irish Enterprise Awards 2024 provides a unique opportunity for companies to highlight their achievements and best practices. This esteemed event welcomes entries from all sectors—whether in technology, pharmaceuticals, engineering, or any other industry—and is dedicated to recognising and commending the exceptional work and impact of Northern Irish businesses.

By entering, businesses have the chance to gain well-deserved appreciation, inspire their peers, and emphasise their role in advancing economic development. This is an opportunity to celebrate their successes and highlight the significant contributions they make to both local and international markets.

Nominations are now open to individuals and third parties. Our dedicated team of professionals will evaluate all nominees based on their excellence and achievements. We are committed to ensuring a fair assessment process, identifying only the most deserving candidates based on their impact and contributions to their industries. If you know a Northern Irish business that deserves recognition for its outstanding capabilities, we encourage you to submit a nomination and celebrate its accomplishments.

FAQ's
FAQ's - Full Width Banner
How long has SME News been in circulation for?
SME News was first launched in 2017 making it one of AI Global Media’s newer publications. SME News is a quarterly magazine circulated to just over 78,000 recipients. The publication seeks to inform, entertain, influence and endorse the start-up and SME business culture in the UK. We aim to achieve this by providing quality editorial and rigorous research utilising a multimedia platform capable of targeting key stakeholders of dedicated advisers, experts and contributors.

SME News is owned by AI Global Media, a UK based publisher which has over 200 issues to its name since 2010.
Where did the nomination come from?
In the interest of nurturing an environment proven to produce a high response rate, we don’t ask nominees to reveal any personal identity. With regards to methodology, we often nominate candidates ourselves and, when it comes to voting, if you didn’t cast a vote through a self-submission, it is likely to have been cast via a colleague or client who has received one of our direct invitations.

One of the main mantras of our awards system is that your ability to succeed is not linked to the number of votes received, meaning your award is presented purely on merit. In the interest of security and fairness, we track unusual behaviour on our website to identify repeat votes and cyber-threats.
What happens if I agree to be shortlisted?
In the interest of focusing our efforts on relevant and eager candidates, we ask all nominees to accept their position on the shortlist giving people complete control in the decision on whether they would like to move forward with the award. Nominees who accept are subject to our scrutiny during the internal vetting procedure and are given the opportunity to present their own data to be considered alongside information collated by our research team. This can take up to 8 weeks for final assessments to be rendered.
Who makes the final decision?
We employ an entirely impartial panel of 5 individuals to conduct all research. At the helm of the panel, is a veteran academic leader with international academic and training experience and is well versed in research, fact-checking and mediation. SME News’ research is overseen by Martyn Walters, who holds a master’s in history and experience in coaching, sales and hospitality.

This two-tiered system allows for a neutral mediator which we feel allows a more efficient method when determining individuals and companies most deserving of winning an award and has brought us much success and commendation throughout its use.
Is there a winner’s ceremony/award dinner and if so, when does it take place?
The short answer is, no.

We decided to not focus our efforts on a celebratory event. Despite being an enjoyable occasion, it doesn’t support our group’s philosophy of cost-effective marketing. We follow the belief that optional costs associated with an award are better placed in a year’s worth of online marketing for the winner rather than spending large sums on a ceremonial evening.

Our press announcements are made digitally, online and across our network to enforce our position as digital publishers. We aim to provide you with the tools (both digital and physical) to generate real-world value.
What happens if I am deemed successful?
After you have been notified we enforce a short press embargo while the programme manager will liaise with you to establish your preferred method of coverage. Generally, our coverage takes the form of a digital celebratory magazine, we also offer physical trophies, wall mounted certificates and plaques and digital certificates, web-based advertisements and press releases which can be custom designed for you or your company.
Are there any costs involved?
As mentioned there are no compulsory costs in accepting a nomination or winning an award with SME News. We do offer a variety of paid additional benefits for our winners, but these are completely optional. To demonstrate our commitment to no mandatory fees, all our winners are offered a free of charge promotional package. Our company policy will always remain: regardless of budget, our clients should always be able to garner the full value of the award and our seal of approval. We offer a variety of promotional opportunities to our winners, as we have an extensive network and we know, more than anyone, the wider business benefits from promoting industry awards.
Why does your email domain differ from your website domain?
Because we send a large volume of emails, we separate our campaign email sends from our transactional ones. This structure helps to ensure a prompt and thorough response from one of our diligent team members. The sending email address will always be recognisable but please contact us via the address on this page if you have any concerns.
Methodology
Methodology 1: Researching nominees - Full Width BannerResearching nominees

The SME News team work ardently to identify market leaders, innovators and enterprising start-ups, driving many of the nominations themselves.

We also encourage external nominations via the SME News subscribers, online visitors, social media followers, clients and wider circulation.

Nominating parties are invited to put forward either third-party businesses whom they hold in high regard, or their own organisation.

Slider Arrow - PreviousSlider Arrow - Next
Methodology 2: Shortlisting nominees - Full Width BannerShortlisting nominees

All nominees are formally requested to accept their nomination. Should any firm or individual rather decline at this point, they are simply taken out of the running.

Those formally accepting are given the opportunity to submit additional materials in support of their nomination. Although there is no obligation to complete and supply material, we have found that many nominees value this stage, in the process, as much as our research team do.

Slider Arrow - PreviousSlider Arrow - Next
Methodology 3: Evaluating and judging - Full Width BannerEvaluating and judging

Our dedicated research team will assess all information presented to them.

The team gather information independently from a variety of publicly accessible sources, which are assessed alongside any material supplied by a nominating party or the nominee themselves.

The research team casts their final judgment, based on various criteria including: client dedication, innovation, business growth, longevity, online reputation, customer feedback and business performance.

Slider Arrow - PreviousSlider Arrow - Next
Methodology 4: Our deserving winners - Full Width BannerOur deserving winners

Once winners are determined, they are personally notified before any public announcement is made, allowing time for any communications throughout the wider business and the coordination of marketing strategies.

Unfortunately, not everyone can be a winner; however, all who take part are encouraged to come back next year.

Once the press embargo is lifted, details of our SME award winners will be made public via the website, award winners’ magazine and subscriber newsletter.

Slider Arrow - PreviousSlider Arrow - Next
Methodology 5: Making the most - Full Width BannerMaking the most

We are prepared to offer a range of promotional packages and items to SME award winners, which vary from inclusion in the free-of-charge winners’ directory, to trophies, content in our magazine and on our website.

We encourage all winners to publicly announce their win independently. Announcements via company websites, social media, via publicly released press releases, and through local and national press are all great ways of maximising the exposure which can be gained from such an amazing achievement. If you have need of further advice, on how to gain maximum exposure from your win, please feel free to get in touch. We are happy to assist our clients with their needs.

Slider Arrow - PreviousSlider Arrow - Next
The winners hall of fame

View all winners of the SME Northern Irish Enterprise Awards.

Hall Of Fame - Year Background Image2023

View all winners.
More awards you might be interested in
Voting ClosedAward Logo

British Made Awards (2024)

Voting OpenAward Logo

Finance Awards (2024)

2024 Winners AnnouncedAward Logo

UK Transport Awards (2024)

Voting OpenAward Logo

Northern Enterprise Awards (2024)

Year-Round AwardAward Logo

Business Elite Awards (2024)

2024 Winners AnnouncedAward Logo

Greater London Enterprise Awards (2024)
our other awards.
Media Pack Cover
SME News Media Pack

Every quarter we offer a new issue of SME News which is published on our website, shared to our social media following and circulated to in excess of 78,000 individuals from various sectors across the UK SME marketplace.

  • TickExpand your reach.
  • TickGrow your enterprise.
  • TickSecure new clients.
View Media Pack
Media Pack - Bottom Slant Gradient
we are sme.
Arrow