Press Release Sunday September 11th 2016
Seven events taking place around the country on Wednesday, October 19th to highlight success stories and to encourage more women to access enterprise supports
The Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Ms. Mary Mitchell O’ Connor T.D. has launched the full programme of events to mark the 10th annual National Women’s Enterprise Day, which is being organised by the Local Enterprise Offices on Wednesday, October 19th 2016.
Events are taking place on October 19th in Cavan, Dublin, Westmeath, Meath, Kilkenny, Kerry and Galway to celebrate the success stories of Irish female entrepreneurs and to encourage more women across Ireland to access enterprise supports for starting or growing a business.
All 31 Local Enterprise Offices are behind the initiative and they have enlisted the help of established entrepreneurs to act as Regional Ambassadors, to share their success stories at events that day.
This year’s Regional Ambassadors are Rachel Doyle of the Arboretum in Carlow and Wicklow, Nicola Byrne of 11890 and Cloud 90 in Dublin, Valerie Kingston of Glenilen Farm in Cork, Aisling Hanley of Keenwah Quinoa in Galway, Hannah Wrixon of Last Minute Minders in Limerick, Audrey Gaffney of Audrey Gaffney Associates in Meath, Regina Bushell of Grovelands Childcare in Westmeath and Margaret Reilly of CTR Manufacturing in Louth.
Announcing the full programme of events for next month, Minister Mitchell O’ Connor said: “The theme for this year’s National Women’s Enterprise Day on October 19th is the ‘road to success’ and I want to encourage more women across every region to start their entrepreneurship journey by developing their business idea or expanding their business. Last year, the Local Enterprise Offices in partnership with the Local Authorities provided invaluable supports including financial and mentoring to 6,250 female-run businesses while more than 11,000 female entrepreneurs participated in specialist training programmes. By highlighting the range of Government supports that are available, I want to increase the numbers of female entrepreneurs starting businesses across all regions of the country which will further enhance our economy by creating more quality jobs in Ireland. I would encourage women to contact their Local Enterprise Office to see what supports are available to them.”
Speaking at the launch, Sheelagh Daly of the Local Enterprise Offices said: “Through financial assistance, microfinance loans, mentoring, training and networking, the Local Enterprise Offices in Local Authorities supported 1,000 more female-run enterprises last year, compared with 2014. There is a wide range of enterprise supports on offer and so we’re encouraging aspiring entrepreneurs and existing business owners to find out about those supports through the National Women’s Enterprise Day campaign.”
Enterprise Ireland is also supporting National Women’s Enterprise Day 2016 and its CEO, Julie Sinnamon was at today’s programme launch, which took place at the Arboretum and National Garden Exhibition Centre in Wicklow. She said: “One in five high potential start-up companies supported by Enterprise Ireland is female-led — just five years ago, that figure was less than one in ten companies. We are very keen to work with women starting innovative businesses that are focused on exports, growth and job creation. Our aim is to continue to support and increase the number of new and existing female entrepreneurs with ambitions for success in international markets.”
Guest speakers at National Women’s Enterprise Day events around the country include the Minister for Regional Development, Rural Affairs, Arts and the Gaeltacht, Ms. Heather Humphreys T.D., Sonya Lennon of Lennon Courtney, Mairead Lavery of Irish Country Living, Patricia Callan of the Small Firms Association, Paula Fitzsimmons of Fitzsimons Consulting, Susan Spence of Softco, Joanne Hession of the Entrepreneurs Academy and Susan Hayes Culleton of the Positive Economist.
Broadcaster Miriam O’ Callaghan, Siobhan Donohoe of IrishTV, Julia Lynes of EasyCity, Fashion accessories designer Úna Burke, Natasha Fennell of Stillwater Communications and Alison Banton of Brooke and Shoals will also be sharing their ‘road to success’ stories on the day.
Tickets for National Women’s Enterprise Day events can be booked from the Local Enterprise Offices through www.nwed.ie and prices vary from €30 to €50 and include either lunch or dinner.
For all media queries around National Women’s Enterprise Day, please contact Engage Ireland
Sarah Bohan or John Compton on Tel: 01 427 8388 / 087 65 39936 / office @engageireland.com
* Facts and Figures: Number of participants of Local Enterprise Office training programmes, broken down by gender. Source: Centre of Excellence, Enterprise Ireland
Gender | Year: 2014 | Year: 2015 | Increase |
Female | 9,773 | 11,088 | 1,315 |
Number of enterprises receiving Local Enterprise Office supports, broken down by gender
Source: Centre of Excellence, Enterprise Ireland
Gender | Year: 2014 | Year: 2015 | Increase |
Female | 5,207 | 6,258 | 1,051 |
National Women’s Enterprise Day events, organised by the Local Enterprise Offices (www.localenterprise.ie)
Border Region
(Cavan, Louth, Leitrim, Sligo, Monaghan and Donegal)
Be impressed with inspiring stories of strong female role models over lunch at Farnham Estate
Regional Ambassador: Margaret Reilly of CTR Manufacturing Ltd and Grand Designs Kitchen & Bedrooms
Destination: Radisson Farnham Estate Cavan, Co. Cavan
Time: 12.15pm for registration, finishing at 3pm (lunch included)
Special Guest: Minister for Regional Development, Rural Affairs, Arts and the Gaeltacht, Ms. Heather Humphreys T.D.
With: Mairead Lavery, Editor of Irish Country Living magazine and Patricia Callan of the Small Firms Association. Plus, hear the journeys of successful entrepreneurs from the region.
Cost per ticket: €30, which includes lunch at Radisson Farnham Estate.
Dublin Region
(Fingal, Dublin City, South Dublin and Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown)
Overcome obstacles, develop your roadmap and get ready for business take-off at Dublin Airport
Regional Ambassador: Nicola Byrne of Cloud90 and 11890
Destination: Radisson Blu Hotel, Dublin Airport
Time: 8.30am for registration, morning conference finishing at 1pm with light lunch
With:, Joanne Hession of The Entrepreneurs Academy, Susan Spence of SoftCo, a panel of local entrepreneurs and RTE’s Keelin Shanley as MC.
Cost per ticket: €30, which includes a light lunch at the Radisson Blu Hotel, Dublin Airport.
Midlands Region
(Westmeath, Longford, Laois and Offaly)
Hear five inspiring journeys and work out your own route to success over lunch at the Wineport Lodge Regional
Ambassador: Regina Bushell of Grovelands Childcare
Destination: The Wineport Lodge, Glasson, Athlone, Co. Westmeath
Time: 10.30am for registration, finishing at 2.30pm after networking lunch
With: Sonya Lennon of Lennon Courtney, Paula Fitzsimmons of Fitzsimmons Consulting, Alison Ritchie of Polar Ice, Fashion Designer Heidi Higgins, Orla Barry of Barry Express and Regina Bushell of Grovelands Childcare.
Cost per ticket: €30, which includes a networking lunch at the Wineport Lodge.
Mid East Region
(Meath, Kildare and Wicklow)
Drive your company’s revenue, profits and cash-flow in the right direction using positive economics
Regional Ambassador: Audrey Gaffney, Audrey Gaffney Associates
Destination: Knightsbrook Hotel, Dublin Road, Trim, Co. Meath
Time: 11am for registration, finishing at 3.30pm (lunch included)
With: Susan Hayes Culleton of the Positive Economist, Alison Banton of Brooke & Shoals, Kathryn Byrne of Your Image Matters and Audrey Gaffney of Audrey Gaffney Associates.
Cost per ticket: €30, which includes lunch at Knightsbrook Hotel.
South East and Mid West Regions
(Kilkenny, Carlow, Tipperary, Wexford, Waterford, Limerick & Clare)
East meets West with after dinner speaker Miriam O’Callaghan on Wednesday and a business power breakfast on Thursday
Regional Ambassador: Rachel Doyle, Arboretum (South East) and Hannah Wrixon, Last Minute Minders (Mid West)
Destination: Kilkenny River Court Hotel, The Bridge, John Street, Kilkenny City
Time on Wed, Oct 19th: 5pm for arrival and registration, finishing at 10pm (with dinner)
Time on Thur, Oct 20th: 8.30am, finishing at 11am (with breakfast refreshments)
With: Rachel Doyle of the Arboretum, Hannah Wrixon of Last Minute Minders and Siobhan Donohoe of IrishTV.ie. Special Guest Speaker: Broadcaster Miriam O’Callaghan.
Cost per ticket: €35, which includes dinner and breakfast refreshments at the Kilkenny River Court Hotel.
South West Region
(Kerry, Cork City, South Cork, Cork North and West)
Plan your route to export, master pitches and get roadmaps for your business
Regional Ambassador: Valerie Kingston, Glenilen Farm
Destination: The Brehon Hotel, Muckross Road, Killarney, Co. Kerry
Time: 9.30am for registration, finishing at 4pm (with networking lunch)
With: Barbara Moynihan of On Your Feet, Clodagh McCarthy of Bright Sparks Coaching, Antoinette Butler of Ireland Host Family, Julia Lynes of EazyCity, Rosie Mansfield of Go Cambio, Maura Hunter of MH Designs Ltd, Valerie Kingston of Glenilen Farm, Helen Hourihane of the Health & Safety Authority, Greg Canty of Fuzion Communications, Caroline McEnery of The HR Suite and Kieran O’ Connor of Bullseye Marketing (in association with Enterprise Europe Network). Master of Ceremonies: Liz Maher, President of Kerry Businesswomen’s Network.
Cost per ticket (full day): €30, which includes networking lunch at the Brehon Hotel.
West Region
(Galway, Mayo and Roscommon)
Get inspired and empowered over Afternoon Tea at the g Hotel
Regional Ambassador: Aisling Hanley of Keenwah Quinoa and Aisling’s Bakery
Destination: The g Hotel, Wellpark in Galway City
Time: 8.45am for registration, finishing at 4.30pm (full day event, with Afternoon Tea)
With: Úna Burke, Luxury Accessories Designer & Artist, Natasha Fennell of Stillwater Communications, Olwen Dawe of Business Intelligence, Carol Joyce and Anna Forde of Yourells, Karen Blissbakery of Yankee Doddle Paddy Blog, Breda Butler of Cuinneog, Deirdre Uí Chathmhaoil of Rí na Mara, Aisling Hanley of Keenwah Quinoa and Aisling’s Bakery, Fiona Faherty of Fushion Fashion, Jill Holtx of My Kids Time, Jenny Brennan of VOW Social and Maricka Burke Keogh of AltoCloud.
Cost per ticket (full day): €50, which includes Afternoon Tea at the g Hotel.
