The Junior Entrepreneur Programme is an entrepreneurship skills programme that promotes teamwork, resilience, problem-solving and creativity. It is offered free to 5th and 6th classes in primary schools throughout the island of Ireland. The programme started in Kerry in 2010.  More than 120,000 children have participated since the programme was first launched. From modest beginnings, it has flourished to become the largest primary school entrepreneurship programme in Ireland. Critical to this success has been the way that Ireland’s leading entrepreneurs have embraced JEP. JEP was co-founded by entrepreneur Jerry Kennelly. Supported by a team of volunteers and entrepreneurs, Jerry led and funded the growth of the programme over a ten-year period until 2020.

The Junior Entrepreneur Programme is proud to partner with Enterprise Ireland to roll out JEP in the Republic of Ireland since 2020. Enterprise Ireland supports JEP under its primary schools entrepreneurship programme initiative.

Mary Immaculate College, Limerick (MIC), one of Ireland’s leading teacher training colleges,  has been the academic partner of the Junior Entrepreneur Programme since its inception in 2010. The Curriculum Development Unit at MIC continues to support JEP to ensure the programme performs to the highest level in the areas of academic standards and curriculum integration.