Drone delivery firms wins Startup of the Year 2020

App made by Cork twins to help nursing homes deal with Covid-19 also awarded 

Bobby Healy's drone delivery startup took home the grand prize. Picture: Keith Arkins

A Galway company which aims to make “3-minute air delivery a reality" has won Startup of the Year at the National Startup Awards.

Drone delivery firm Manna, founded by Bobby Healy, is the world’s first aviation-grade B2B drone delivery ‘as-a-service’ company.

The company has already established partnerships with Just Eat, Supermacs, Tesco and Flipdish, while investors such as Greenman Investments Dynamo Ventures, Elkstone and Frontline Ventures are backing the startup. 

Manna also took home Gold in the Emerge Tech Startup category and the silver prize in the Covid Pivot or Response Startup.

CEO and Co-Founder of Zendra Health Thomas Coleman with brother, David.

The top prize in the Covid-19 Pivot or Response Startup category was awarded to Cork twins Thomas and David Coleman whose company Zendra Health designed an app to help nursing homes deal with the Covid-19 crisis. 

The app, which was first trialled at St Luke's Home in Cork, allows staff self-screen for Covid-19 and access educational materials related to the virus. 

Other awardees on the night included Dungarvan-based FinTech firm Flexiwage who took home the prize for Fintech Startup of the year during the online ceremony.

Flexiwage is a financial activity tracker for employees that allows individuals to schedule their income in a pay frequency that suits their needs without impacting a company’s ability to process monthly.

Micron Agritech, a TU Dublin spin-out which recently announced it had raised half a million euro in investment to bring Micron Kit, its rapid on-site parasite detection test, to the market took home the gold prize in the Early Stage Startup category.

Meanwhile, data-driven VR simulation company VRAI, which provides simulation training for hazardous environments won the top prize in the Social or Sustainable Startup category.

The Dublin-based company announced yesterday that it has been awarded a Defence and Security Accelerator contract with the Royal Air Force (RAF) focused on improving the RAF’s ability to measure and predict pilot performance using a combination of VR & data analytics technology.

Limerick's Huggnote, founded by sisters Jacqui and Perry Meskell, took home the silver award in the same category for their app which "turns songs into virtual hugs."

Commenting on the Awards, Stephen Dillon, Founder of Startups.ie, said: "Despite the dual challenges of Covid19 and Brexit, we were amazed and inspired by the quality and passion of the Startups involved in this year’s awards."

"Our startup entrants have demonstrated incredible resilience and ingenuity and it is these companies that will help to create employment and help to rebuild our economy after these current challenges." 

Jennifer Melia of Enterprise Ireland said "young innovative companies are key to our economic recovery" after the challenges of Covid-19.

"The National Startup Awards provide these companies with the foundation from which they can grow and thrive and it is always a privilege and a pleasure to celebrate the newest companies and ambitious entrepreneurs emerging across the country," she said.