New Frontiers Graduates Are Celebrated At A Showcase Event In Kerry

In March, ten founders graduated from Phase 2 of the New Frontiers programme in Kerry. The 2026 MTU Enterprise Showcase & Kerry Start-Up Challenge was held in the newly opened An Cuan building on Munster Technological University’s (MTU) Kerry Campus.

The high-energy event brought together emerging startups, regional enterprise stakeholders, and industry leaders for a day of pitching, networking, and celebration of entrepreneurial achievement.

The showcase offered attendees the chance to meet the founders and explore their innovative ventures first-hand. Speaking at the event, Niamh O’Kennedy, New Frontiers Programme Manager, said, “It’s inspiring to see such strong potential at this early stage – their drive and creativity will be key to shaping successful businesses.”

Also in attendance was Ciara Concannon, National New Frontiers Programme Manager at Enterprise Ireland, who highlighted the importance of continued engagement with organisations such as the Local Enterprise Offices and local BICs.

Three shortlisted companies pitched live to a judging panel composed of Matthew Collins of Sibly Food Company, Suzy Griffin Dunne of Hildun Beauty and Donagh Ó Buachalla of Ailtireach. The founders each had three minutes to present their business vision.

Best New Business Idea was awarded to Sean Field of DPPManager – a platform transforming how companies manage their digital product passports (DPP) and project workflows.

Best Pitch went to Oisín Flynn of Chess Ireland. Oisín impressed judges with a pitch focused on expanding chess education in schools and workplaces nationwide. Flynn and his co‑founder, Tomás Fitzpatrick, were recently featured in the Sunday Independent’s 30 Under 30.

The audience also heard from Tralee-based alumnus Shane Hassett of WAZP. Shane shared insights from his journey scaling an award‑winning 3D printing solutions company.

New Frontiers cohort in Kerry

The graduates from this latest cohort in Kerry are:

Markus Schmidberger of JuntoAI

JuntoAI is a next-generation business network that deploys autonomous AI agents to achieve professional goals. It addresses the problems of current networks, which are engineered for engagement instead of outcomes and trap user data in walled gardens. With JuntoAI, users set a goal, and AI agents work 24/7 to deliver tangible results like leads and booked meetings. The platform guarantees digital sovereignty, giving users full ownership of their identity, data, and social graph. The vision includes an open marketplace where third-party developers can create and monetise specialised AI agents.

Sean Morris of Marketta

loopmo is developing a VoC (Voice of Customer) feedback solution for physical retailers. Feedback surveys aim to track NPS (Net Promoter Score) and CSAT (Customer Satisfaction) and to gain insights so retailers can improve these metrics. Current solutions suffer from low response rates and engagement and a lack of actionable insights.

This is an issue, as with low and inconsistent response rates across a retail chain, NPS and other metrics measured are not decision-grade due to a large margin of error. In addition, surveys are controlled at the head office level, depriving store owners from getting feedback on local initiatives. It’s only on the ground at the store level that changes can be made to improve customer experience.

Marketta’s solution is transaction-linked QR codes printed on receipts which lead to surveys tailored to each individual customer and transaction. This results in a shorter, more engaging survey experience. Participation is incentivised by monthly draws for experiences such as weekends away, concert tickets, outdoor activities, etc. Together, these factors lift response rates and allow for more insightful questions designed to extract meaningful actionable insights that can be actioned at the store level to improve NPS and CSAT which are linked to better business outcomes: higher repeat-purchase propensity and share of wallet, greater customer lifetime value, and faster revenue growth.

Oisín Flynn of ChessIreland

ChessIreland is building Ireland’s first dedicated chess education and technology platform, designed to make chess accessible, engaging, and scalable. The company operates at the intersection of education and digital learning; the model combines offline programmes, including in-school workshops, after-school clubs, and regional tournaments, with a forthcoming digital learning app that will bring the experience online. This dual approach creates a unique pathway: children are introduced to chess in schools and clubs, then continue their learning at home through a gamified platform that aims to mirror the success of Duolingo in language learning.

ChessIreland’s value lies in its ecosystem approach. For schools, it provides ready-made, curriculum-aligned workshops that develop critical thinking, problem-solving, and social skills. For families, it offers an affordable way to learn and progress through interactive lessons, puzzles, and tournaments in our chess clubs. For the wider chess community, it delivers tournaments and events that showcase the game and build long-term engagement.

Donna Nelan of BuddyBear

BuddyBear is an interactive emotional intelligence toy and app ecosystem designed to help children and parents develop healthy emotional awareness, connection, and resilience.

Created under the Interactive Therapies umbrella, BuddyBear combines a soft, sensor-enabled teddy bear that allows children to express emotions by pressing dedicated emotion buttons; a parent-facing app that provides real-time insights into a child’s emotional world, alongside CBT-informed scripts, activities, and coaching tips; and engaging stories and games that teach children how to understand, regulate, and communicate their feelings.

BuddyBear’s mission is to address the growing global need for child mental health support, offering families and schools a playful, science-based tool to nurture emotional well-being from the earliest years.

Sean Field of DPPManager

Very soon every company selling a physical product in the EU marketplace will be legally required to have a Digital Product Passport (DPP) for their product – a digital twin of a physical product. This means millions of companies in the EU, and worldwide, will have to comply with this legal requirement to be able to sell anything in one of the biggest marketplaces in the world.

DPPManager provides an easy and cost-effective way for companies to comply with this new regulation. The digital management tool easily creates and manages DPPs using Hyperledger Fabric Blockchain. The platform is cloud-based, so access is immediate, and with a simple registration process a company will be onboard within minutes. The tool uses AI and pre-existing templates so non-technical users can use it.

Paddy Lange of Resilium

Resilium is a specialised cybersecurity partner protecting the physical backbone of a business. From industrial machinery and building management systems to critical operational networks, it safeguards the physical assets that keep operations running on a daily basis. Their approach is simple: to treat each aspect of cybersecurity as an isolated module, selecting the best-in-class platforms for each, and integrating them into a custom, unified stack solution, tailored to each company’s environment.

Phillippa Christie of Equine Academy

Despite a global market value exceeding €300 billion, the equine industry is severely fragmented. Existing management and diagnostic tools operate in silos, forcing owners and professionals to manually bridge communication gaps through paper diaries and email. Equine Academy is solving this by developing EQUINE AI, a centralised vertical AI infrastructure that combines a clinical-grade vision engine with a specialised large language model (LLM).

Máire Griffin of Compliance Hub

Compliance Hub is a potential cloud-based compliance management platform that integrates multiple ISO frameworks into one centralised hub. Starting with ISO 9001, it will expand to ISO 27001, ISO 45001, ISO 14001, and ISO 42001, with future plans to launch ISO 13485 and ISO 22000 for the US market.

Their mission is to simplify compliance so organisations remain “audit ready every day”. The platform combines software, ready-to-use frameworks, automated task wizards, vendor management tools, and on-demand consultant support. It offers SMEs and larger enterprises an affordable, scalable solution tailored to Irish/EU regulatory needs, unlike generic global platforms or costly consultancy-only models.

Compliance Hub offers a single access point: consolidates compliance tasks, policies, incident reporting, and documentation across ISO, GDPR, ESG, HR, and H&S requirements; automated workflows: guides staff through complex compliance tasks, reducing errors and training needs; consultant integration: hybrid model blending self-service software with expert advisory support; and continuous audit readiness: ensures compliance is maintained year-round, not just during audits.

Dylan Dunne of Cora

Cora is an AI-powered onboarding and training assistant designed for companies with frontline workforces. The platform transforms static SOPs, training manuals, and safety documents into a dynamic, searchable knowledge base that staff can query in real time.

Frontline staff often struggle with slow onboarding, forgotten training, and difficulty finding the right procedure when they need it. Supervisors waste time with repetitive questions, while managers face pressure to prove compliance during audits. These inefficiencies cost companies time and money and create operational risk.

With Cora, managers can upload SOPs training and safety documents, tag them by role, and push updates to staff instantly. Employees can ask questions in plain language and get instant, accurate answers drawn directly from company-approved documentation. If the AI cannot answer, the query is escalated to a manager, whose response is added back into the system – creating a continuously improving knowledge base.

Cora also logs queries, answers, and document usage, providing managers with analytics on common knowledge gaps. The result is faster time-to-productivity, fewer mistakes, reduced supervisor workload, and improved safety.

Essino Madzhiani of Washell

Washell is a sustainable household products brand designed to combine eco-consciousness, effectiveness, and style. Founded on the belief that everyday cleaning should be safe for people and the planet, Washell develops natural, biodegradable, and non-toxic solutions for home care.

The product line includes multi-purpose cleaners, dishwashing liquids, laundry detergents, and surface care products – all created with carefully selected natural ingredients. With a focus on minimalist design and eco-friendly packaging, Washell appeals to modern households looking for quality and sustainability without compromise.

Washell’s mission is to make green living accessible and practical, while also setting a new standard for how household brands approach health, aesthetics, and responsibility.

Best of luck to these founders as they take the next steps with their businesses!

Calling startup founders near Kerry

The New Frontiers programme in Kerry is based in the Tom Crean Business Centre on Munster Technological University’s Kerry Campus. The New Frontiers Programme Manager in Kerry is Niamh O’Kennedy. Find out more about Niamh and our Kerry location or see our upcoming application deadlines.