Northern Irish entrepreneur shortlisted in UK innovation awards

Kieran Kelly, chief executive of Arc-net, the Belfast-based IT consultancy firm specialising on combating global food fraud, has been shortlisted in the Innovation Entrepreneur Category in the prestigious Great British Entrepreneur Awards 2017.

Mr Kelly, a digital technology expert from county Down, created Arc-net in 2014 to harness the power of blockchain techniques for tackling food fraud. The technology company has offices in Edinburgh and San Francisco.

Arc-net is also working closely with leading food processors and with the Global Institute of Food Security at Queen's University in Belfast.

Blockchain is a cloud-based traceability solution that connects all elements and organisations within the dedicated supply chain to provide the retailer and consumer with 100 per cent traceability, provenance and authenticity offering both brand and product protection.

Now in its fifth year, the NatWest Great British Entrepreneur Awards acknowledges the hard work and inspiring stories of British entrepreneurs and businesses in Great Britain. The awards have celebrated some outstanding entrepreneurs who have gone on to become household names.

With increased support from NatWest, the organisers have extended the awards across the UK for the 2017 programme with ceremonies now being held in five cities - Cardiff, Birmingham, Manchester, Edinburgh and London - compared with two in previous years. Mr Kelly is named in the Edinburgh centre.

Creator of the NatWest Great British Entrepreneur Awards, Francesca Russell, believes that it is vital that British entrepreneurs are championed. She explained: "Entrepreneurs inject competition into markets, create jobs and spur innovation. In many cases their businesses change the ways in which we live and work. These awards are different because they celebrate the story behind these people - true entrepreneurs are as much about their story as they are about their balance sheet."

Gordon Merrylees, head of Entrepreneurship for NatWest, added: "Entrepreneurs are the lifeblood of the UK economy. There are more businesses in the UK than ever before and it is clear that entrepreneurial spirit is alive and well. NatWest is thrilled to be supporting these awards again this year and allowing other UK cities to celebrate their entrepreneurs."

Entrepreneurial Spark, powered by NatWest, is the world's largest free business accelerator for start-up and scale-up businesses. It now has 12 UK hubs, covering all four nations of the UK, with a London hub opening its doors in August 2017. These hubs have supported businesses that have collectively turned over £176 million and secured £151 million in investment. The entrepreneurs behind these businesses have, to date, created 3,152 jobs across the UK.