Tomorrow (Friday Aril 30 ) is the last day to apply for the next EMPOWER GROWTH, the women’s entrepreneurship programme, which is run by the GMIT iHubs.
The EMPOWER Programme is free to participants and aims to fast track female-led businesses in the counties Galway, Mayo, Sligo, Roscommon, Leitrim and Donegal. EMPOWER is funded by the Department of Justice and Equality and the European Social Fund.
Females business owners with established businesses who are looking to growth and scale their enterprise should apply. The programme involves peer to peer learning, one to one mentoring with experienced business mentors, support and opportunities to network with like-minded business leaders.
Throughout the programme inspirational guest speakers attend the group sessions to talk on a specific topic or to share the story of their business journey.
Helen Nolan, CEO of Spraoi agus Spórt which is an award winning social enterprise based in Carndonagh, Inishowen secured a place on the EMPOWER GROWTH programme in July 2020.
When asked about the programme Helen said: “Inspirational, motivational, and fun are the three words I would use to sum up my experience on the Empower Growth Programme. I applied for this programme as I wanted to develop new ideas and get support from other women about how they managed their businesses, I got so much more.
“Sandra and Declan are great mentors and help keep you focused and on track to reach your goals. The monthly speakers are insightful and very relevant to the challenges faced by business today, the peer-to-peer support from the other female participants is pure magic and is the icing on the cake. Friendships and connections made for life! Don’t delay apply today.”
Trish Hegarty is an ex-BBC and Irish Times journalist, turned owner and director of her public relations agency, Inis Communications in Inishowen, Co Donegal who also secured a place on the GROWTH2020 programme.
When asked about the programme Trish responded: “The EMPOWER programme helped me to clarify my vision for growth and map the road towards achieving it. I’m now getting ready to launch an online PR toolkit for small business on my website www.iniscommunications.com It’s a big innovation and no-one is doing anything else like it and I hope it offers a great way for SMEs to secure affordable quality PR services.
The support of the EMPOWER mentors, participants and webinars has played an essential role in helping me get to this stage. Being part of a programme like EMPOWER helps you to focus and stay on track with developing your business, and gives you the tools and confidence to grow.”
The programme is delivered on a Saturday, once per month over a 10 month period. The EMPOWER GROWTH 2021 programme will run from June 2021 to March 2022. Due to Covid restrictions the programme is planned to be delivered online until such a time as in person meetings are permitted.
