ACORNS is inviting female entrepreneurs from Galway to submit their applications for the 12th cycle of the highly successful business development programme.
The programme supports women living in rural Ireland who are in the early stages of starting their own business. It has been supporting female entrepreneurs in rural Ireland since 2014.
Galway entrepreneur Sheena Dignam of Galway Food Tours completed the ACORNS 2 programme. She joins Ruth Gallagher of Wild Beans Café as previous Galway participants calling on businesswomen to join the programme.
The free initiative for early-stage female entrepreneurs is funded through the Rural Innovation and Development Fund by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM ).
The deadline for applications for ACORNS 12 is midnight, September 18. There are up to 50 places available. Those wishing to receive an application form should register on the website (www.acorns.ie ).
After a trip to Galway, Sheena Dignam was impressed by the city’s vibrant food and culture scene and, in 2013, she moved from Dublin to set up a life in the West of Ireland. Immersing herself in the local community, she launched Galway Food Tours in 2014 (www.galwayfoodtours.com ). For €90, food enthusiasts enjoy a three-hour guided tour of Galway, visiting local artisan producers and sampling their products, including fresh sushi, fine cheese, Galway oysters, mouth-watering breads, savoury bites, pastries and other sweet treats. Since then, Sheena has expanded the company’s offerings with evening tours, Aran Island food tours and Galway City food tours.
“Engaging with other women running their own businesses through ACORNS gave me the confidence to continue expanding,” said Sheena. Her team has grown significantly over the years, and she now leads a dedicated staff of 11 people while also expanding operations to include Kilkenny.
Invaluable
Eager to fill the gap in the local market for a consistently good cup of coffee, Ruth Gallagher opened Wild Beans café in her adopted hometown of Kinvara in 2021.
Ruth credits the peer-to-peer support at the ACORNS roundtables with validating the image of herself as an entrepreneur. “Everyone has imposter syndrome at the start, but the group is all about positive reinforcement. We’re always messaging each other with questions or potential collaborations. The ACORNS network is invaluable in that sense.”
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 with first-hand experience of starting and successfully growing a business in rural Ireland.
The programme is available to early-stage female entrepreneurs living in rural Ireland who have generated sales no earlier than the end of June 2023. Selection is on a competitive basis as ACORNS receives many more applications than there are places available.
ACORNS 12 will run from October 2026 to April 2027 and will include six monthly round table sessions, a briefing by various development agencies and an end-of-cycle celebration.
There will be no charge for those selected to participate in ACORNS 12, thanks to the continuing support of the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine and the voluntary contribution of time by the Lead Entrepreneurs.
Minister for Agriculture, Food, and the Marine, Martin Heydon, TD, launched the call for applications for ACORNS 12.
“My Department has supported Female Rural Entrepreneurs under the Rural Innovation Development Fund for over a decade. To date over 600 women in rural Ireland have completed a cycle of the ACORNS programme.”
The Minister added, “ACORNS has consistently provided the skills, and capability needs that female entrepreneurs require when embarking on their business journey. I am acutely aware of the difficulties that entrepreneurial women can come up against when attempting to start new businesses, especially in rural areas, and the ACORNS programme is a real, tangible, mechanism to mitigate and overcome these challenges.”
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Minister Heydon concluded by saying, “It brings me great pleasure to be launching, once again, this innovative and progressive programme that aims to bring about real change in our rural economy, breathes life into our country towns and villages and assists women across rural Ireland to begin and grow their budding businesses.”
ACORNS Lead Entrepreneur, Triona MacGiolla Rí, Founder of Aró Digital Strategy, which is based in the Connemara Gaeltacht, said: “ACORNS is giving real momentum to rural Ireland’s entrepreneurial talent. The programme doesn’t just nurture ideas it builds confidence, community, and businesses that last. As a Lead Entrepreneur, I see women arrive with promising early-stage businesses and leave with sharper focus, real momentum and renewed confidence in their vision.”
Inspiring exporters
Feedback from the most recent cycle underlines the value of taking part. All 53 participants who completed ACORNS 11 said they would recommend ACORNS to others, while 98% felt closer to achieving their business ambitions following the programme and 94% said their participation had brought about practical change within their business.
Nine businesses began trading for the first time during the ACORNS 11 cycle. The combined annual turnover of ACORNS 11 participants grew from €4.1m to almost €6m, while the number of people employed by participants rose by 59 to a total of 134 by the end of the cycle. There were also four new exporters among participants by the end of ACORNS 11.
Each of the Lead Entrepreneurs gives their time to the programme on a voluntary basis, as they believe in the philosophy of ‘entrepreneurs helping entrepreneurs’.
This year’s voluntary Lead Entrepreneurs are Alison Ritchie, Polar Ice; Geraldine Jones, Skin Formulas; Karen Kerrigan, Kerrigan’s Mushrooms; Larissa Feeney, Kinore, Donegal; Mary B Walsh, Ire Wel Pallets; Orla Leahy, Ireland Chauffeur Travel, Tipperary; and Triona MacGiolla Rí, Aró Digital Strategies.
In addition, experienced businesswomen, Clare Duignan and Geraldine Kelly, who are on the Going for Growth advisory panel, will facilitate ACORNS Plus round tables for previous participants who are committed to continuing driving forward the development of their businesses.
