Prestigious entrepreneur award for Summerhill’s Kate

Summerhill student and entrepreneur, Kate Madden, has been officially proclaimed one of the top student entrepreneurs in the world.

Kate, who along with her sister, Annie, set up the extremely successful equine business Fenu Health was runner up in a maor global competition for student entrepreneurs.

She was chosen from over 1,500 applicants who were shortlisted to 50 and then to three.

Kate won $10,000 and a scholarship for the EO Accelerator Program.

The competition is unique in that they judge the entries on their own potential and not their individual businesses.

“Being the only female to make it to the top seven and top three Global Student Entrepreneurs makes me very proud to be representing the ladies,” she said.

Kate has just finished her second year in UCC, where she is studying food marketing and entrepreneurship.

Her sister Annie, would have sat her Leaving Certificate this year if it hadn't been for the pandemic and she is hoping to study business and law in UCC.

Both Kate and Annie were prize winners at the BT Young Scientist Competitionin 2015 and then went on to form their very successful equine business Fenu Health.

The multi-award-winning business provides a range of supplements to help stomach and digestion problems in horses and camels. They have customers around the world, including five royal families.

Kate explains where they saw the market opportunity: “Humans only produce acid when we eat. Horses’ stomachs produce acid all the time. Stomach issues are an almost universal problem affecting racehorses, sport horses and ponies in the field. “It’s estimated that 90 per cent of racehorses have stomach / gastric problems.

“Our product, which is 100 per cent natural can be fed to a racehorse right up to, and on, the day of a race.

“Our passion for horses led to the formulation of our original product and we have since gone on to formulate eight more products to help horses naturally at various stages of their lives / careers. We have also formulated a blend specifically for racing camels in the middle east.”

Their business weathered the global recession triggered by the Covid-19 pandemic.

“We saw a 20 per cent drop in business in April as all racing had been cancelled, but when word got out that we were operating from behind closed doors, we recovered within a few weeks and business is now back to normal,” she says.

Pictured: Kate Madden (right) with sister Annie, founders of Fenu Health