I'm encouraging female entrepreneurs around Offaly and the wider Midlands to consider participating in the latest iteration of the ACORNS initiative, a free business development programme that will run for the tenth time over the coming Winter and Spring.
ACORNS offers unique insight, expertise and experience to female entrepreneurs operating in rural areas, and who are either in the early stages of operating their business, or who are in the later stages of getting ready to launch their enterprise.
Funded through the Rural Innovation and Development Fund by the Department of Agriculture, Food, and the Marine (DAFM), ACORNS provides participants with the opportunity to take part in workshops, roundtables, a Community Forum and other networking events, all with the guidance of ‘Lead Entrepreneurs’, who offer their own unique experience and business acumen to help guide the next generation of innovators and risk-takers.
Log onto acorns.ie to look at the past experiences of those who have been through the first nine rounds of the programme.
This is a subject that is dear to my heart, and an initiative that has brought immense success to a host of different businesses since being set up in 2014.
There are unique challenges that come with being a female entrepreneur, and while women have skills and insights that serve them incredibly well when it comes to spotting opportunities and pushing their ambitions through to completion, there is immense value to the insight and experience that the lead entrepreneurs can offer, as well as the ability to plug into a network of like-minded people who share your drive and imagination.
I’ve been in touch with many business owners who have taken part previously, both here in Offaly and all across the country, and I could not recommend the programme highly enough. It’s a competitive application process which means that those who take part know that they will meet up with other successful people who have a lot to offer, and the results speak for themselves.
The window for applications for ACORNS 10 opened this month and closes at midnight September 20th. A survey carried out at the end of ACORNS 9 in April revealed that participants increased their total turnover over the course of the six-month programme, by €1.2 m, from €2.8m to €4m (+43%). All participants surveyed said that they would recommend participating in ACORNS to others.
Participants also reported doubling their total workforce to 133, with 59 full-time and 74 part-time staff employed at the end of the cycle – an increase of 67. There were also four new exporters over the cycle.
Those wishing to receive an application form for ACORNS 10 should register on the website www.acorns.ie, and only early-stage female entrepreneurs living in rural Ireland, and who have had no sales before the end of June 2021, are eligible to apply.
There will be no charge for those selected to participate in ACORNS 10, thanks to the continuing support of the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine and the voluntary contribution of time by the Lead Entrepreneurs.
ENDS
Image: With the National Director of ACORNS, Paula Fitzsimons and the ACORNS Team at the ACORNS Community Forum at Mullingar Park Hotel, April 2023
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