Waterford entrepreneurs Sara Malaj and Jordan Casey tasted success at the Student Enterprise Awards national finals in Mullingar yesterday.

Sweeteners, a confectionary business, won Best Display in the Junior category of the national finals. The business, founded and run by Sara, sold exquisite treats and deserts both inside the school and from businesses in Waterford City.

A first-year student from Mercy Secondary School in Waterford City, Sara first qualified from her school for the Waterford County finals in March. As the overall Junior winner from Waterford, she went on to represent her county as one of 88 businesses from across the country shortlisted in the three main categories of the awards, which are managed by Local Enterprise Offices.

Jordan Casey was awarded the Alumni Achievement Award at the Student Enterprise National Finals. This award recognises outstanding alumni who have excelled in their entrepreneurial journey since taking part in the Student Enterprise Programme. Jordan, now a 26 year old entrepreneur, while attending De la Salle College entered the Student Enterprise Programme in 2013 and again in 2015, winning an Innovation Award for his work with KidsCode.

The Alumni Achievement Award, now in its 2nd year, called for entries before Christmas and Jordan was put forward by LEO Waterford as an outstanding entrepreneur who formerly completed the Student Enterprise Programme. Head of Enterprise, Gareth Evans was delighted with this recognition, “Jordan is one of Waterford’s brightest exports and we had no hesitation in putting him forward when the opportunity arose. We were extremely pleased but not surprised to hear he had won. He is a real credit to his family, school and county.”

Jordan is a software engineer and global speaker who has been working in the global technology space for the past 14 years. Since he taught himself to write computer code at the age of 9, has founded and co-founded a number of highly successful technology startups. He’s also been lucky enough to establish himself as a global public speaker at over 300 events in 31 countries on 5 continents. Speaking highlights include 7 TEDx Talks, Cannes Lions, Dubai Knowledge Summit and Web Summit.

Jordan was delighted with the accolade, “I have extremely fond memories of the Student Enterprise Programme. Understanding code and technology is one thing butmanaging it as a business is a completely different challenge. The SEP taught me so many skills and gave me so many experiences, taking part in it has assisted me over the years and still does today.

“When I heard I’d won this Alumni Award I was humbled and delighted. This programme has no many success stories, to be put up on a par with them is truly thrilling.”

Jordan is passionate about many areas, youth entrepreneurship, education, bitcoin and emerging technologies and has acted as an ambassador for a number of organisations in these fields. Entities such as the European Union, SETU, The Government of Dubai and the EUIPO have sought his help in the past.

His latest venture has taken him in a different direction, as Jordan explained, “For the last year, I’ve been the co-founder and CEO of MindPath.ie, an online mental health platform dedicated to providing assessments and support for neurodivergent individuals, providing specific support for ADHD and Autism. We see ourselves as a hybrid between a technology company and a specialised clinic, combining advanced proprietary screening tools with expert clinician care to deliver fast, high quality and accessible support. To be able to combine my passion for technology with supporting and helping people is a real honour, and I’m proud to say since we launched in April 2025, we’ve helped thousands of people across Ireland gain access to vital care and have grown into one of Ireland’s leading platforms.”

Jordan received his award at the Student Enterprise National finals in Mullingar on May 7th. With over 500,000 students having taken part in the Student Enterprise Programme over the past 24 years, the programme has seen some incredible young entrepreneurs make their mark in the business world. As well as students who have gone on to set-up and run a business, the judges received applications from students who work for other organisations and companies, and brought their entrepreneurial expertise with them into their roles.

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