Invest Northern Ireland has announced an Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) partnership with Young Enterprise NI which will support the next generation of entrepreneurial talent in Northern Ireland.

The newly announced partnership will see Invest NI business mentors share their expertise with Young Enterprise Students to help them learn about best practice and how to be environmentally and socially responsible in business.

Making the announcement, Kieran Donoghue, CEO of Invest NI said: “Invest NI is pleased to join forces with Young Enterprise as an ESG Business Backer. This new partnership underscores our commitment to supporting businesses across Northern Ireland at all stages of their development and will help ensure that sustainability is at the heart of our future economic growth.

“We believe in the transformative power of entrepreneurship, and supporting Young Enterprise will allow us to inspire and empower young people to become responsible and sustainable business leaders of the future.”

As part of this new partnership, Invest NI hosted the final of the Young Enterprise NI Company programme on Thursday 21 March. Six schools from across Northern Ireland went head-to-head to become the Young Enterprise Northern Ireland Company of the Year and the winner will represent Northern Ireland at the UK finals in June. The overall UK winner will be announced at a gala dinner on Thursday 25 April.

Carol Fitzsimons MBE, Chief Executive of Young Enterprise NI added: “Young Enterprise is grateful for Invest NI’s commitment to supporting future generations of entrepreneurs.  Its support will be instrumental in empowering our students to build businesses that create positive change.

“This partnership demonstrates Invest NI’s understanding that successful entrepreneurship and the prosperity of Northern Ireland relies on the future generation and their ability to navigate the business world.”