Mayo female entrepreneurs encourage others to join ACORNS programme
MAYO female entrepreneurs are encouraging others from the county to join the latest cycle of ACORNS - a highly-successful free development initiative to support early-stage female entrepreneurs living in rural Ireland.
The call for applications for the ninth cycle of ACORNS was recently launched by Charlie McConalogue, Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine. ACORNS is funded through the department’s Rural Innovation and Development Fund.
The programme comes highly recommended by previous participants, with 100% of those surveyed at the end of the eighth cycle saying they would recommend the programme to others.
The 46 entrepreneurs in ACORNS 8 made significant progress over the six months of their involvement, reporting significant growth in their new businesses. Their combined turnover almost doubled in the six months to April 2023 - from €1.9m to €3.6m. Participants in ACORNS 8 employed 96 (55 full-time, 41 part-time) staff at the end of the cycle, an increase of 16. There were also five new exporters over the cycle.
There are 50 places available for ACORNS 9, which will run from October 2023 to April 2024. Those wishing to receive an application form for ACORNS 9 should register on the website (https://acorns.ie/).
The deadline for applications is midnight, September 22.
Past participants from Mayo include Sarah Hoban of OHS Consulting (https://ohsconsulting.ie/), Jennifer Davidson of Heartfelt Drama (https://www.heartfeltdrama.com/) and Sinead Ryan of Aran Health Pharmacy.
Based in Westport, with a second office in Galway, OHS Consulting partners with businesses nationwide, helping them to achieve best-in-class safety compliance. Sarah was a participant on ACORNS 6 and has also completed ACORNS Plus, a further development cycle.
Sarah says: “I was so pleased to be selected for the ACORNS programme. Applying to these programmes can sometimes seem daunting and you wonder will you have the time with other business and family commitments.
“Looking back on the programme, this time was invaluable to my business vision, and taking the time to commit to the programme was worth every second. Sometimes juggling life and work stops us seeing or business strategy clearly as we are too caught up in the day to day. For me setting this time aside to listen to other female entrepreneurs talk through their businesses has been of great help to me.”
Jennifer Davidson, founder of Heartfelt Drama, was a participant on the most recent cycle. Chair of the Writers’ Guild of Ireland and a writer on RTÉ soap opera Fair City for more than 10 years, Jennifer had always dreamed of setting up her own production company, one that places an emphasis on talent development and stories for TV and film that are female-led and carry a commercial focus. Her move from Dublin to the west of Ireland provided the perfect opportunity to make good on those ambitions.
Jennifer says: “Taking part in ACORNS 8 was a game changer for me and my business. It gave me the focus and clarity to turn HeartFelt Drama from an idea into an actual reality.
“And more than that, with the support from our brilliant lead entrepreneur, and my fellow business women in our group, it gave me the confidence and the space to really dream big and understand my own ambitions for myself and for the company. I couldn’t recommend taking part in ACORNS highly enough.”
Sinead Ryan was also a participant on ACORNS 8. She set up Aran Health Pharmacy at the Silverbridge Tesco Shopping Centre in Claremorris in November 2021. She believed there was a great opportunity for pharmacy services in the community, delivered on an extended hours basis.
Sinead says: “ACORNS was a brilliant experience, would highly recommend to anyone starting a business.”
ACORNS is based on the belief that early-stage entrepreneurs learn best from their peers. Participants interact with each other in the monthly round table sessions, which are facilitated by a lead entrepreneur, who has first-hand experience of starting and successfully growing a business in rural Ireland. Each of the lead entrepreneurs give their time to the programme on a voluntary basis, as they believe in the philosophy of ‘entrepreneurs helping entrepreneurs’.
Only early-stage female entrepreneurs operating in rural Ireland, and who have had no sales before the end of June 2020, are eligible to apply.
There will be no charge for those selected to participate in ACORNS 9, thanks to the continuing support of the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine and the voluntary contribution of time by the lead entrepreneurs.
This year’s voluntary lead entrepreneurs are Anne Reilly, formerly Paycheck Plus; Caroline Reidy, The HR Suite; Deirdre McGlone, Hospitality & Tourism Advisor; Eimer Hannon, Hannon Travel; Larissa Feeney,Accountant Online; Mary B Walsh, Ire Wel Pallets; and Triona MacGiolla Rí, Aró Digital Strategies.
Speaking at the launch, Minister McConalogue said: “While there are many rewards to being an entrepreneur, it can be a lonely journey with many challenges. To provide support in dealing with these challenges, I am pleased to be able to provide further funding to female entrepreneurs in rural Ireland through the 9th ACORNS Programme. This programme will not only help develop businesses, but will provide networking opportunities to participants that may not be as available in rural parts of the country.
“To date through the ACORNS programme, I have been able to support over 400 female entrepreneurs to realise their business ambitions, while contributing to society in a meaningful way. The impact of this support has been overwhelmingly positive, with participants reporting both increased sales and the creation of additional jobs.”