Suzanne Moloney was victorious when Visa announced the winners of its inaugural She’s Next Grant Programme in Ireland. As an extension of Visa’s global She’s Next Grant Programme, created to boost and empower women entrepreneurship, five women business-owners from across Ireland receive a grant of €5,000 and one-year business coaching through IFundWomen to support, grow and expand their businesses.
Among the winners was Galway-based HidraMed Solutions, founded by Suzanne Moloney, who was awarded the She’s Next grant for the Innovation category. HidraMed Solutions is the company behind HidraWear, which has revolutionised wound care for those suffering from the incurable and debilitating skin disease, Hidradenitis Suppurativa (HS ).
As someone diagnosed with HS, Suzanne wanted to find a better way to manage her medical condition and care for her wounds daily. As a result, Suzanne created HidraWear - a patented range of adhesive-free dressings that fit into specially created underwear to help to alleviate the burden of HS. HidraWear is listed on the national health reimbursement schemes in four markets, including Ireland, with a view to expanding into the US in 2022.
Suzanne Moloney was delighted with her win.
“The last few years have seen HidraMed transition from a fun start-up to a fully operational organisation. The mentoring opportunity through the She’s Next Grant Programme is timely as it will help me through this transition, particularly as the business expands into new markets.
“As we grow, we are developing new products, and the funding will contribute to tooling costs related to a new dressing design we are working on at the moment, aimed to launch in 2022.”
The pandemic continues to impact small businesses, and women business-owners have been disproportionately affected. Visa’s mission is to provide support to women-owned businesses in Ireland through its Visa She’s Next programme. The grants and coaching can make all the difference to a business in its early stages or one in need of a boost.
The programme received over 200 entries from Ireland’s women entrepreneurs with representation from multiple sectors including technology, education, retail and culture. The judges were particularly impressed by the ingenuity, the passion for their business and entrepreneurial spirit of the five winning recipients.
“We were blown away by the response to Ireland’s inaugural programme and it’s clear from the calibre of entries that entrepreneurship among women in Ireland is flourishing” said Dominic White, country manager, Visa Ireland. “But the feedback we have received from entrants is that women need more support and can benefit hugely from coaching and the opportunity to network with like-minded entrepreneurs. We warmly congratulate the five fantastic winners and look forward to seeing them take the next step in growing their businesses.”
