Catalyst Opens Applications for INVENT 2025 with £55k Prize Fund for Entrepreneurs

Catalyst’s leading competition for aspiring entrepreneurs, INVENT is officially open for 2025 applications with a top prize of £25,000 set to be claimed by the overall winner.

Hosted by independent, non-profit science and technology hub Catalyst in partnership with Bank of Ireland, the established INVENT competition is a key event for early-stage startups and aspiring entrepreneurs to present their innovations to a panel of expert judges.

Recognising and celebrating the most promising entrepreneurs who show real potential for commercial impact, INVENT 2025 will work towards a finale awards ceremony held in the ICC Belfast on 23October.

The awards have a total prize fund of £55,000 available, with each category winner securing £5,000 and the overall winner walking away with an additional £20,000, totalling a £25,000 top prize. There will also be an additional prize of £2,500, which will be awarded to the best student application in the competition.

Claire Kelly, INVENT Programme Manager at Catalyst said: “The creative quality throughout entrepreneurship in Northern Ireland is continuing to soar, with new start-ups and big ideas coming to fruition every year. We are delighted to launch INVENT 2025 and continue to shine a light on our brightest minds who could be the key to solving many real-world problems.

“Last year we refreshed our categories and got a whole host of new ideas through the competition, and so we are excited to build upon these and see what this year’s candidates bring to the table.”

Niall Devlin, Head of Business Banking NI at Bank of Ireland UK, headline partner for the INVENT Awards, said: “Fostering entrepreneurship and celebrating innovation are at the core of our long-standing partnership with Catalyst.  It’s why we’re pleased to renew our support for the INVENT programme which showcases what can be achieved when the right support is provided to enable entrepreneurs to learn, grow and develop.

“Bank of Ireland opened its first branch locally in 1825 and we have been supporting entrepreneurs and enterprise ever since. As we look to the future, we’re more focused than ever on creating the right conditions to enable local entrepreneurs and businesses to thrive.”

Building on the success over the years, INVENT 2025 will have six categories reflecting that innovation comes in various forms from reimagining leisure experiences to exploring environmental solutions. Each category provides a distinctive opportunity for a product or service to differentiate itself and capture the interest of key influencers and decision-makers in the region.

The categories are:

• Creative Leisure: Innovations in entertainment, creativity, and recreation, from reshaping film to pushing fashion boundaries.
• Green Horizons: Environmental sustainability innovations, from waste reduction to green technology, healing and preserving the Earth.
• Future Business: Transforming the business landscape with innovations in financial technology, cybersecurity, data management, and business robotics.
• BioBreakthroughs: Pioneering work in Life Sciences, welcoming advancements in healthcare technologies and the understanding of living organisms. 
• Living Well: Celebrating innovations that enhance quality of life, from SportsTech to mental health solutions and lifestyle products.
• Uncharted Ideas: For pioneering products or services beyond the usual – presenting ideas that don’t neatly fit elsewhere, a unique exploration of innovation. Participants won’t know the type of innovations they’re up against.

Winning the top prize in 2024, Dia Beta Labs Ltd was the first winner of the then brand new BioBreakthroughs category. An innovative and future-thinking company, Dia Beta Labs Ltd is developing transformative treatments which take a holistic approach to metabolic disease management. These treatments provide high quality, sustainable weight loss through preferential targeting of fat whilst sparing muscle, whilst rescuing insulin-producing cells of the pancreas which are lost over time as the disease progresses.

For more information about INVENT 2025, please visit www.invent25.co. Applications will close 29 June 2025.