A babygro that aids neurological development in babies took top honours at the Ireland Funds Business Plan Competition which took place in Dublin yesterday.

Creeper Crawlers was created by Ollwyn Moran from Dublin with her idea for a babygro with grips. Ms Moran said the babygro idea came about when she noticed her first child had difficulty crawling on wooden or laminate floors. She noticed a gap in the market for a babygro with grips to prevent babies from slipping and sliding when they crawl.

“The Creeper Crawlers babygro provides traction and helps your child to crawl because they slip less.”

Ms Moran claims the babygro helps babies crawl more successfully and for longer, promoting healthy body and brain connections. Ms Moran teaching science and biology in a secondary school and lectures part-time at Trinity College Dublin.

Ms Moran won €10,000 plus in-kind supports from the DCU Ryan Academy, the Guinness Business Centre and Bank of Ireland.

The 12 judges reached a unanimous decision to award Ms Moran top prize. “I burst into tears because I was so overwhelmed. To have 12 people endorse you after working on a product you believe in is amazing,” she said.

Second place went to Katie Tsouros and Artfetch, and joint third to Sarah King with Nite Rider and Chris McGeady with FindAFrat.

The Irish Times is proud media partner to the competition which aims to nurture creativity and hone entrepreneurial skills among early-stage entrepreneurs from the Republic and Northern Ireland.