Published on Wednesday11thNovember2015
New €500,000 Fund to encourage business women to start new businesses
Pictured at the launch are: Ollwyn Moran, Creeper Crawlers; Helen Flynn, KonnectAgain; Jobs Minister Richard Bruton; Sarita Johnston, Manager Female Entrepreneurship, Enterprise Ireland
Jobs Minister Richard Bruton today launched a new €500,000 Enterprise Ireland Competitive Start Fund to support ambitious business women in starting new enterprises.
The initiative is part of an ongoing drive by Enterprise Ireland to boost the number of innovative, export-oriented businesses being set up and led by female entrepreneurs. The Fund is open to female-led start-ups in Manufacturing and Internationally Traded Services including Internet, Games, Apps, Cloud Computing, Enterprise Software, Lifesciences, Food, Consumer Products, Medical Devices and e-Health. Applications will be considered on a competitive basis and the financial support will be in the form of equity investment.
The Fund, which provides for up to €50,000 in equity support for each successful applicant, opens for applications today, Wednesday, 11 November.
Launching the Fund, Minister Bruton said:
A key part of the Government’s Action Plan for Jobs is driving growth in female entrepreneurship. In Ireland we have hugely innovative and ambitious female entrepreneurs but we just don't have enough of them. Since taking office we have put in place a range of initiatives and the numbers have improved, but we must do more. By specifically targeting a substantial increase in their numbers we can make a real difference to the overall level of entrepreneurial activity in Ireland. New businesses create two-thirds of all new jobs in the economy. This €500,000 Competitive Start Fund targeting female entrepreneurs will give a real boost to ensuring that more women get involved in starting international businesses, ultimately creating more jobs in Ireland.
Full details of the Fund and the application form are available on the Enterprise Ireland web site: www.enterprise-ireland.com/ambitiouswomen. Closing date for applications is 3pm, Wednesday 25 November 2015.