Derek Foley Butler, the chief executive of Grid Finance was named best established entrepreneur at the annual EY Entrepreneur of the Year (EoY) awards on Thursday evening in the Powerscourt Hotel in Enniskerry.
Accepting the award on stage, Mr Foley Butler of Grid Finance said he was not expecting the award, noting his participation in the EY programme had changed his life.
“I am just one person in a much bigger team,” he said, extending thanks to longstanding staff and his customers.
Mr Foley Butler said, “I set up this business to make a difference, to do well and to do good.”
RM Block
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Mr Foley Butler returned to Ireland in 2013 after serving as financial controller in Uganda and later as country director in Haiti for the Irish charity Goal, and founded Grid Finance. Ireland’s first financial services B-Corp designated entity, it is dedicated to building the financial health and resilience of small and medium enterprises (SMEs).
Grid provides working capital finance, leasing, and insights to SMEs and employs 20 people across its three offices in Dublin, Limerick, and Óbidos, Portugal.
Its partners include Chartered Accountants Ireland and An Post, and it has helped 3,500 businesses with more than €150 million in funding. Through its technology platform, it has processed more than €2 billion in client funds.
Mr Foley Butler’s win was announced at an awards ceremony at the Powerscourt Hotel in Co Wicklow.
The Grid boss previously told The Irish Times that the big “game changer” for the company was receiving funding from the European Investment Fund in 2024.
“It allowed us to invest in new products for scale and build up the internal capacity and structures within the business,” he said.
He is aiming to “scale the business fivefold in Ireland between 2025 and 2028, and increase its operations to ”at least two other countries".
The inspiration for the founding of Grid came after Mr Foley Butler was exposed to the benefits of microfinance during his time in northern Uganda.
“The village savings and loan scheme pioneered by Care was transformative in helping rebuild the war-torn communities of northern Uganda, post conflict.”
The other finalists in the established category of this year’s awards were: Karl Fitzpatrick of Chevron College; James Kelly of LMH Engineering Group; William McColgan of McColgans Quality Foods; Terry Hughes of Pivotal; Larry Bass of Shinawil; and Gary Lavin of VITHIT Drinks.
