Two Galway businesswomen are inviting their contemporaries to follow in their footsteps – and complete a pioneering free programme specifically for female entrepreneurs.

Donna Gilligan, founder of Scéal Heritage Consultancy, and Dorothy McDonagh, founder of Sidekick Media, have both successfully completed the ACORNS programme – a highly-successful development initiative to support early-stage female entrepreneurs living in rural Ireland.

And they are now encouraging other women in Galway to apply for the next cycle of the free business development programme, which is celebrating its tenth anniversary this year.

ACORNS has been providing a decade of support for female entrepreneurship in rural Ireland and has recently launched the tenth 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).

Donna Gilligan is founder of Sceál Heritage Consultancy, an Irish museum consultancy based in outside Tuam.

As a curator, material culture historian and heritage educator, Donna works with museums, tourism sites and heritage organisations to provide innovative, inclusive and creative forms of cultural heritage celebration and interpretation.

She recently completed the previous cycle of the programme, ACORNS 9.

“I found ACORNS to be a very valuable, positive, and supportive resource for the development of my growing business. It has encouraged and advised me towards taking the necessary next steps to cultivate and continue the business long-term,” said Donna.

Dorothy McDonagh also recently completed ACORNS 9. She is the founder of Sidekick Media, a Barna-based digital marketing agency which provides services in digital strategy, graphic and video design, web design and development, social media marketing, and more.

Sidekick Media also specialises in Google Ads, with experts on hand to monitor ad metrics to give clients the best return on investment in Google Ad campaigns. Dorothy recently completed ACORNS 9.

“I would highly recommend ACORNS. It is a wonderfully inspiring community of super-talented women in business from rural Ireland,” she said.

“I made great progress in my business, learned from my group, Lead Entrepreneur and the people that I met. It is a little bubble outside of your business where you can be inspired, take powerful action and meet wonderful people.”

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.

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.

The deadline for applications for this special tenth anniversary cycle is midnight, September 20.

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.

Pictured: Clare Gormley, Department of Agriculture, Food & the Marine and Dorothy McDonagh, Sidekick Media, at the ACORNS Community Forum and ACORNS 9 Celebration.  PHOTOS: Orla Murray/Coalesce