Participants of past ACORNS programmes – a highly-successful development initiative to support early-stage female entrepreneurs living in rural Ireland – are encouraging other females in county Cork to apply for the next cycle of the free business development programme, which is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year.
ACORNS – which stands for Accelerating the Creation Of Rural Nascent Start-ups – is now in its 10th year, providing a decade of support for female entrepreneurship in rural Ireland and has recently launched the 10th cycle of the business development programme.
Rostellan Farm founder, Olivia Morrissey is a past participant of the programme having completed ACORNS 7. A working dairy farm in Rostellan, near Midleton, the business sells its own brand of fresh milk, as well as a range of sustainably sourced food products from regional producers and artisans, from a shop on the farm grounds – visit the website www.rostellanfarm.ie
“ACORNS was absolutely amazing. You meet other people that are, like yourself, just starting out in business,” Olivia Morrisey, founder of Rostellan Farm, said. “You are also part of such a strong community that has your best interests at heart. It’s a very safe environment to air anything you might be struggling with. You know that if you’ve got a question, there’s always someone there with the expertise to help you answer that question and get you through.”
SEPTEMBER 20TH DEADLINE
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’.
In addition, a series of regional Gatherings for ACORNS Community members will be held in the autumn to celebrate 10 years of the initiative.
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 and those wishing to receive an application form should register on the website www.acorns.ie
