Female entrepreneurs from Carlow encouraged to sign-up to successful business programme

Female entrepreneurs from Carlow are being encouraged to submit their applications for the latest cycle of ACORNS, a highly successful development programme to support women living in rural Ireland who are in the early stages of starting their own business. 

Carlow entrepreneur Ciara Stanley of Coppenagh House Farm recently completed the programme. She joins Caitríona Cullen as previous Carlow participants calling on businesswomen to join the programme. 

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ACORNS has been providing support to early-stage female entrepreneurs in rural Ireland for more than a decade and has recently launched the 11^th cycle of the business development programme.

The deadline for applications for ACORNS 11 is midnight, September 22. 

There are up to 50 places available for ACORNS 11. Those wishing to receive an application form should register on the website (www.acorns.ie).

Ciara Stanley, from Tullow, is something of a serial entrepreneur. She and her husband Robert have run Coppenagh House Farm, which specialises in rearing and selling wagyu beef, since launching their farm shop in August 2022.

Essentially, Coppenagh House Farm is a farm shop that aims to bridge the gap between consumer and producer and showcase the couple’s working farm to the general public www.coppenaghfarm.ie.

Ciara says: “The support ACORNS participants gave to each other was invaluable as were the connections and contacts made through the programme.” 

Other past participants fromCarlowinclude Caitríona Cullen of Cullen Nurseries.

Cullen Nurseries grows and supplies native trees and hedging plants to a nationwide customer base of farmers, gardeners, homeowners and community groups across Ireland. Caitríona was a participant on ACORNS 5 and has also completed ACORNS Plus, a further development cycle. 

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Caitríona says:

 “ACORNS has provided me with access to a network of wonderful businesswomen, who champion the sisterhood, encourage and support start-ups, share their experience and knowledge, and provide a safe, confidential space for us to express our concerns and fears. This network of women has been a powerful tool in my inventory.”

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 2022, are eligible to apply. As ACORNS receives many more applications than there are places available, selection is on a competitive basis.

ACORNS 11 will run from October 2025 to April 2026 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 11, thanks to the continuing support of the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine and the voluntary contribution of time by the Lead Entrepreneurs.

Minister for Agriculture, Food, and the Marine, Martin Heydon, TD, launched the call for applications for ACORNS 11. 

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Minister Heydon said: “Following a decade of support from my Department for female rural entrepreneurs under the Rural Innovation Development Fund, I am delighted to launch the latest cycle. The programme continues to go from strength to strength and has supported over 550 women in rural Ireland over the last ten years.

“The ACORNS programme is a hugely successful programme, designed to support early-stage female entrepreneurs in rural Ireland. It aims to address the skills, enterprise and capability gaps that female entrepreneurs can face and in doing so provides support to help overcome the barriers which often limit entrepreneurial activity in rural areas.

 “Encouraging female entrepreneurs in rural Ireland to apply for support under the ACORNS programme which will help them realise their dreams of starting and growing successful businesses.”