Four Dublin startups have won Aer Lingus’s inaugural TakeOff Foundation Start-Up Awards. The competition launched this year and focused on startups in the Fingal area.

WeBringg, Hope Beer, MIAS Pharma and BusterBox were chosen as winners in the competition, which was organised by Aer Lingus, Fingal LEO and Fingal Dublin Chamber.

The four winners will receive business mentoring, free European and long-haul international flights with Aer Lingus and exposure in the airline’s in-flight magazine, Cara.

WeBringg provides a last-mile delivery service for e-commerce firms; Hope Beer sells a range of craft beers brewed and bottled at Howth Junction, Dublin; MIAS Pharma helps companies license and sell their pharmaceutical products in European markets; and BusterBox operates an online gift-box service for dog lovers, sending monthly packages of toys and food for pooches.

The TakeOff Foundation Start-Up Awards are part of Aer Lingus’s CSR activities to support Irish businesses, organised through the airline’s TakeOff Foundation, which handles all of its CSR endeavours.

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Ruth Ranson, director of communications with Aer Lingus, said that launching a new business venture demands a huge amount of determination and commitment. “We established the TakeOff Foundation Start-Up Awards to help business owners during this early stage of their business journey to help them reach their full potential.

“We hope the bursary of international flights and exposure in Cara magazine will enable the winning startups to pursue new business opportunities in Ireland and abroad.”

Photo (l-r): Liam Brennan, BusterBox; Jeanne Mahony, Hope Beer; Sean Murray, WeBringg; and Ann McGee, MIAS Pharma (Pic: Chris Bellew/Fennell Photography)