Minister for Agriculture, Food, and the Marine, Martin Heydon TD, has opened the call for applications for ACORNS 12 today and set the deadline for applications to be midnight on Friday, September 18.
Minister Heydon said his Department has supported Female Rural Entrepreneurs under the Rural Innovation Development Fund for over a decade.
“To date more than 600 women in rural Ireland have completed a cycle of the ACORNS programme. 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.”
Minister Heydon concluded by saying this innovative and progressive programme 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, which stands for Accelerating the Creation of Rural Nascent Start-ups, is in its 12th year. It is funded through the Rural Innovation and Development Fund by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine. The programme, which was developed by Fitzsimons Consulting, is based on the belief that early-stage entrepreneurs learn best from their peers. Participants will interact with each other and will be facilitated by Lead Entrepreneurs.
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 last ACORNS 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 the six-month cycle.
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. There are up to 50 places available. Those wishing to apply must first register their interest via the website (www.acorns.ie ). They will then be sent an application by email.
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, as a result of the support from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine and the voluntary contribution of time by the Lead Entrepreneurs.
Since it began in 2014, more than half of all ACORNS participants continuing to avail themselves of support through their membership of the ACORNS Community. The benefits of membership includes the opportunity to take part in workshops, roundtables, a Community Forum and other networking events. 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’.
This year’s voluntary Lead Entrepreneurs are Alison Ritchie, Polar Ice; Geraldine Jones, Skin Formulas; Karen Kerrigan, Kerrigan’s Mushrooms; Larissa Feeney, Kinore; Mary B Walsh, Ire Wel Pallets; Orla Leahy, Irish Chauffer Travel; and Triona MacGiolla Rí, Aró Digital Strategies. In addition, Dr Anne Cusack and Geraldine Kelly, who are experienced Going for Growth Lead Entrepreneurs, will facilitate ACORNS Plus round tables for previous participants, who are committed to continuing driving forward the development of their businesses.
ACORNS Lead Entrepreneur Karen Kerrigan of Kerrigan’s Mushrooms, said: “Becoming an ACORNS Lead has been a truly rewarding experience. Running a business can sometimes feel lonely, but ACORNS creates a supportive environment where women encourage one another, share experiences and realise they don’t have to face challenges on their own. It has been incredibly rewarding to see participants grow in confidence, believe in themselves, and see their businesses grow alongside that. The enthusiasm, honesty and generosity within the group have kept me motivated and reminded me that we’re all continually learning, no matter what stage we’re at in our business journey.”
Paula Fitzsimons, Director of ACORNS, said: “We are very pleased to invite applications for another cycle of ACORNS, which has consistently delivered meaningful results for both participants and the wider economy. We look forward to receiving applications from the next group of prospective ACORNS and to supporting those selected as they work to grow their businesses, increase revenues and create employment.”
