Two more Clare women have successfully completed the ACORNS programme – a highly-successful development initiative to support early-stage female entrepreneurs living in rural Ireland.
Carine Roseingrave, founder of Burren View Farm, and Breige Grogan, founder of Little Rock Digital, encouraging other females in Co. Clare to apply for the next cycle of the free business development programme, which is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year.
ACORNS has been providing a decade of support for female entrepreneurship in rural Ireland and has recently launched the 10th cycle of the business development programme.
The free initiative for early-stage female entrepreneurs is funded through the Rural Innovation and Development Fund by the Department of Agriculture, Food, and the Marine (DAFM).
The deadline for applications for this special 10th anniversary cycle is midnight, September 20th. There are up to 50 places available for ACORNS 10. Those wishing to receive an application form should register on the website (www.acorns.ie).
Carina Roseingrave is founder of Burren View Farm, a free range eggs business which she runs on the 350-acre family farm in Crusheen, Co. Clare. She recently completed ACORNS 9, the previous cycle of the programme.
She started the business following the temporary closure of her after-school childcare business due to the Covid-19 pandemic lockdown. After initially selling eggs from the honesty box at the farm gate, she has since grown her flock to 1,200 hens and her client base to include local shops, cafes and restaurants.
Carina Roseingrave, founder of Burren View Farm, says: “Participating in ACORNS definitely helped my business because I was surrounded by likeminded people, who all wanted to get a business up and running, and you weren’t on your own. It was just brilliant to be surrounded by likeminded people going in the one direction. We’re still connected and still support each other now. I also had great support from the ACORNS team and our Lead Entrepreneur. They really focused my mind on the business. I feel much more confident.”
Breige Grogan, founder of Little Rock Digital, was on the previous cycle of ACORNS and recently completed the programme.
Breige worked in digital marketing for 15 years before a need for greater flexibility following the birth of her child led her to set up her own digital marketing and ecommerce consultancy firm, Little Rock Digital, in 2022. The Ennis-based company predominantly attracts clients from the SME market after Breige found that small businesses were struggling to transition quickly to an online offering during the Covid-19 pandemic. For more information visit the website (www.littlerockdigitalmarketing.com).
Clare Gormley, Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine and Breige Grogan, Little Rock Digital – Photo: Orla Murray/Coalesce
Breige Grogan, founder of Little Rock Digital, says: “ACORNS provided me with a structured framework for my thinking and helped me to define my business. One of the best things about it was the sharing and learning from each other as participants.”
ACORNS is based on the belief that early-stage entrepreneurs learn best from their peers. Participants interact with each other in the monthly round table sessions, which are facilitated by a Lead Entrepreneur, who has first-hand experience of starting and successfully growing a business in rural Ireland.
Only early-stage female entrepreneurs living in rural Ireland, and who have had no sales before the end of June 2021, are eligible to apply. As ACORNS receives many more applications than there are places available, selection is on a competitive basis.
ACORNS 10 will run from October 2024 to April 2025 and will include six monthly round table sessions, a workshop on understanding financials, a briefing by various development agencies and an end-of-cycle celebration.
There will be no charge for those selected to participate in ACORNS 10, thanks to the continuing support of the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine and the voluntary contribution of time by the Lead Entrepreneurs.
Charlie McConalogue T.D., Minister for Agriculture, Food, and the Marine, says:
“2024 marks a decade of support from my Department for Female Rural Entrepreneurs. This initiative has supported over 400 women in rural Ireland over the last ten years. The programme aims to address the skills, enterprise and capability gaps that female entrepreneurs can face and takes into account the barriers which often limit entrepreneurial activity in rural areas. I am delighted that once again we can target this area and help Female Rural Entrepreneurs to realise their dreams of starting and growing successful businesses.”
While 57 participants completed ACORNS 9, the initiative also provided continued support to more than 300 past participants through the ACORNS Community, which provided them with 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; Caroline Reidy, The HR Suite; Eimer Hannon, Hannon Travel; Larissa Feeney, Kinore; Mary B Walsh, Ire Wel Pallets; and Triona MacGiolla Rí, Aró Digital Strategies.
In addition, experienced businesswomen, Clare Duignan and Geraldine Kelly, who are on the Going for Growth advisory panel, will facilitate ACORNS Plus round tables for previous participants, who are committed to continuing driving forward the development of their businesses.
In addition, a series of regional Gatherings for ACORNS Community members will be held in the autumn to celebrate 10 years of the initiative. These Gatherings will provide an opportunity for previous ACORNS participants to reconnect, network with other ACORNS from different cycles in their region and focus on the continuing and further development of their businesses.
For more information or to arrange interviews, please contact Martha Kearns of StoryLab at +353 87 272012
Note for Editors:
About ACORNS
ACORNS, which stands for Accelerating the Creation Of Rural Nascent Start-ups, is in its 10th year. It is funded through the Rural Innovation and Development Fund by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM). ACORNS was a runner up in the 2018 European Enterprise Promotion Awards, Investing in Entrepreneurial Skills. The programme was developed by Fitzsimons Consulting.
Eligibility Criteria for participation on ACORNS
To be considered for ACORNS, applicants must:
Have set up a new business which has generated sales no earlier than the end of June 2021 or be actively planning a new venture and have made good progress towards getting the new venture off the ground. Indicators of actively planning a business would include organising the start-up team, sourcing equipment / facilities, money saved for the start-up, writing the business plan, etc.
They must own or part-own the business and be living in a rural area, that is in an 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.
They must expect to become an employer within three years.