Business bursary provides solid foundation for extreme sports

Former stonemason James Duggan of Funmanway Adventure Land has a firm foundation for his business after winning the Cork Innovates €12,500 business start-up bursary.

Cork Innovates teamed up with the Irish Examiner, AIB, Cork County and City Enterprise Boards, Cork Chamber, and Newstalk to offer a €12,500 bursary to give a start-up business the opportunity to succeed.

James Duggan was up against stiff competition and, with 70 entries from all over Ireland competing for the coveted prize, he emerged the victor. The other two finalists were Ian Brown of The Greedy Pig Food Company, and Eoin Leonard of i3PT Certification Association.

The prize includes €2,000 plus support from a dedicated business advisor in AIB; €2,000 worth of services, including membership, advertising, and training from Cork Chamber; soft supports such as training, mentoring, and workshops valued at €1,000 from Cork County and City Enterprise Boards; €2,500 and €5,000 worth of advertising from the Irish Examiner and Newstalk.

Funmanway Adventure Land is the first attraction of its kind for West Cork, offering thrill-seekers a range of extreme sports activities such as hydro-zorbing, paintballing, and kayaking.

After returning from Australia in 2009, James was unable to find work as a stonemason, so he decided to start his own business. While abroad, he explored had many of the extreme sports on offer in Australia and New Zealand, and discovered that Cork did not have any facility for extreme sports. He began developing a 21-acre site which he had purchased in 2006, and Funmanway Adventure opened in July.

“Winning this bursary will really give my business the kick-start it needs,” said James. “As I have no previous experience in running my own business, I’m very much looking forward to the support from AIB’s dedicated business adviser.

Cork Innovates chairman Paul Hands said: “Our bursary is aimed at making a difference to an entrepreneur in providing financial support focused on delivering critical skills and services to give a fledgling business a boost in achieving business velocity.

“In the case of our winner James, this is definitely the case, as it will help to upscale the marketing and branding activity which has the potential to significantly improve the annual revenues and lead to further job creation.”