Female entrepreneurs in rural areas are being reminded that the deadline for the free ACORNS business development initiative is approaching.
ACORNS, which stands for Accelerating the Creation Of Rural Nascent Start-ups, is funded through the Rural Innovation and Development Fund by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM).
The programme, which is this year celebrating its 10th anniversary, will close for applications this Friday, September 20.
ACORNS
As in previous years, there has been significant interest in the programme but there is still time for those interested to apply for one of the 50 available places.
ACORNS 10 is completely free for those selected to participate and will run from October 2024 to April 2025.
The programme will include six monthly round table sessions, a workshop on understanding financials, and briefings by various business development agencies.
A survey carried out at the end of the last cycle, ACORNS 9, showed that participants increased their total turnover over the course of the six-month programme by €1.2m or 43% to €4 million.
All of the participants surveyed said that they would recommend participating in ACORNS to others
Participants also reported doubling their total workforce to 133, with 59 full-time and 74 part-time staff employed at the end of the cycle – an increase of 67.
Entrepreneurs
To be considered for the ACORNS programme, applicants must have set up a new business which has generated sales no earlier than the end of June 2021.
They can also be actively planning a new venture and have made good progress towards getting the new venture off the ground.
Applicants must own or part-own the business and be living in a rural area, outside the administrative city boundaries of Dublin, Cork, Galway, Limerick and Waterford.
If selected, applicants must be available to attend the launch forum and first round table session on October 21 and 22, 2024.
ACORNS was developed by Fitzsimons Consulting which specialises in entrepreneurship and growth.