Class wins special merit as mobile product charges ahead

AN entire class from a Cork school who designed a holder for charging mobile phones were among the winners of the national final of the Student Enterprise Awards.

The transition-year students from Davis College, Mallow, who have designed a type of plastic shelf for the mobile to sit on while charging, received a special merit award in the senior category.

Managing director of the mini-company, On Hold, Radek Zuk, said mothers in particular found the holder, that keeps the flex tucked away, was effective at keeping the mobile out of reach of younger children.

“We decided to produce a special shelf for the mobile phone to sit on while charging to keep them safe and protect them from damage,” he explained.

Radek said a number of mobile companies had shown a lot of interest in the holder, that currently retails at €5.99 and is produced in Cork. Hundreds have been sold already.

The budding entrepreneurs said business had “increased sharply” since the On Hold was featured on RTÉ’s Late Late Show last month.

Another prize winner was Emer Mooney, 13, a first-year student at St Anne’s Community College, Killaloe, Co Clare, who produces natural hand-made Irish hampers.

She won third place in the junior section for her company Natural Hampers.

“My hampers are Irish-made and I give 20% of the profits to Trócaire,” she said.

Emer sells her hampers at local markets but has also developed a website to highlight her company. “It is first on the Google search,” she pointed out.

She started developing the product last September and has sold around 500 for different occasions to date. “It is taking up a lot of my time but I love it,” said Emer.

“My Christmas hampers were really popular. I sold 250 of them and could have sold more if I had enough confidence to buy more at the time,” she said.

Emer’s business teacher, Mairead Ryan, said she was a natural entrepreneur, just like her hampers. “She works very, very hard and never stops improving her hampers. She is such a credit to her school,” she said.