Cumasú programme incorporates Mayo Gaeltacht areas
A new Cumasú programme for female entrepreneurs in the Gaeltacht areas of Ireland, including Mayo, is being launched by Údarás na Gaeltachta in partnership with the Empower Programme – a free initiative run by the Atlantic Technological University (ATU) Innovation Hubs and the Rubicon Centre at Munster Technological University (MTU) that aims to promote and fast-track female entrepreneurship.
The ATU Innovation Hub and the MTU Rubicon Centre in Cork both have huge experience delivering entrepreneurship programmes, in particular female entrepreneurship programmes. This is the first time they are partnering on such an initiative.
Last year 13 women signed up to participate in a pilot Cumasú Start programme, which was delivered part-time over 12 weeks by start-up experts. This allowed participants to balance their family commitments while at the same time planning and developing their new business.
This new programme will have two parts – Empower Start and Empower Grow.
Empower Start is for females with an early stage business idea that they want to develop and grow. It will be delivered over 12 weeks, mostly in an online setting with some in-person events also. The opportunity is to test start up idea(s) for customer acceptance.
Empower Growth is for female founders in business 18 months plus living in the Gaeltacht areas that want to grow and scale. This programme is based on peer-to-peer learning with fellow female founders and will take place one day per month.
Orla Flynn, president of ATU, commented: “I’m delighted that ATU is again partnering with Údarás na Gaeltachta to support female entrepreneurship in the Gaeltacht regions, building on our successful pilot programme last year. I’m especially pleased that this year the partnership also includes the Rubicon in MTU, themselves no strangers to supporting female entrepreneurship.
“Together we will be supporting all Gaeltacht regions of Ireland, across Donegal, Galway, Mayo, Kerry, Cork, Waterford and Meath. Ní neart go cur le Chéile!”
Tomás Ó Síocháin, Príomhfheidhmeannach of Údarás, equally expressed delight with the new programme.
He stated: “Creating opportunities for underrepresented groups in entrepreneurship is a key priority for Údarás, and is vital to ensure that we draw on the often untapped talent among a huge swathe of the population. Cumasú is the first step, we hope of many, for female entrepreneurs, and Údarás is working on the next steps for those entrepreneurs as they seek to bring novel ideas to life.
“In doing so, this will often solve problems in their community, create local, sustainable employment, and also over time develop a cohort that will create business that can seek to capture part of a global market.”
Maria Staunton, Empower coordinator at ATU, added: “Last year we ran the Empower Cumasú Programme, with 13 females engaging in it. Following that success we went on to bring the rest of the Empower Programme to the wider regions of the Gaeltacht across Ireland.
“We are hoping to attract over 110 females on to the programme over the next three years. We are looking forward to partnering also with the Rubicon Centre at MTU in Cork and watching more female businesses develop and grow in our rural regions.”
For more information, contact the ATU iHub Mayo on empower.galwaymayo@atu.ie or check out www.empowerprogramme.ie.