Recently appointed Gender Equality Minister Kathleen Lynch launched an
exciting initiative in Longford this evening which will provide gender
specific mentoring for 15 budding entrepreneurs from Counties Longford and
Westmeath.
The Midlands Female Entrepreneurship Project is an innovative inter-county
project to help a group of budding entrepreneurs to enhance their skills
through preparatory training and through mentoring.
Speaking at the launch Minister Lynch told the participants that “the
Midlands Female Entrepreneur Mentoring (FEM) Project is one of ten
entrepreneurship projects which emerged from the tight competitive process
for ESF funding under the Equality for Women Measure and marks yet another
innovative venture by the Longford Women’s Link which has been actively
engaged in the advancement of women for over 16 years. Much of the focus
of the work of LWL is the economic empowerment of women – an issue very
close to my own heart.”
Minister Lynch, who also has responsibility for Disability, Mental Health
and Older Persons, told the participants that entrepreneurial activity can
contribute significantly to economic growth and was also a key target of EU
economic policy.
The mentoring will be provided under the FEM project by established
entrepreneurs coming from their partner county. Therefore, established
entrepreneurs from Westmeath will provide guidance to their less
experienced colleagues from Longford and vice versa. Each group received
training before taking part in the project which will continue over the
next eight weeks.
Minister Lynch concluded "A study undertaken by the European Commission in
2008 on women innovators and entrepreneurship identified that there are
still many obstacles to women’s participating in innovative
entrepreneurship. These include contextual obstacles such as education
choices and stereotypes; economic obstacles including access to finance and
softer obstacles, such as a lack of business training and role models. I
want to pledge my commitment to identify and address such barriers in an
Irish context.”