A local not-for-profit company has been nominated for a prestigous accolade in the Wales Start Up Awards.

Prom Ally, which has bases in both Colwyn Bay and Llandudno, offers the free loan of prom dresses and suits to school children, sixth form students and college students who otherwise couldn't afford one. 

As the result of many successes and much local admiration, the company has been shortlisted in the category of Social Enterprise Start-Up.

This recognises new businesses that have taken on social investment to break new ground either in delivering a new service, creating new models of delivery or breaking into new markets.

Ally Elouise, from Llandudno runs Prom Ally, and her story began back in 2015 when she watched a documentary about poverty in the UK featuring a young girl who was struggling to attend her end of year school prom.

Ally was so moved she used her own 21st birthday money to buy prom dresses from charity shops to loan. She then built a website and began loaning free of charge prom dresses to young people who would not otherwise have been able to attend their school prom.

She has also been recognised at the Palace of Westminster with a British Citizen Award in recognition of her extraordinary endeavours and recently opened a not-for-profit shop in Llandudno town.

The Wales Start-Up Awards were established in 2016 to recognise the achievements of those amazing individuals who have had a great idea, spotted the opportunity and taken the risks to launch a new product or service.

Now in their sixth year, the Wales Startup Awards are also the only awards in the UK that focus specifically on celebrating the success of new businesses and recognise businesses across all sectors and all parts of Wales

The result of the voting will be revealed on Thursday 9th September during a ceremony at The Depot in Cardiff.