Female entrepreneurs across rural Ireland are being invited to apply for the next round of the popular ACORNS programme.

ACORNS, which stands for Accelerating the Creation Of Rural Nascent Start-ups, is funded through the Rural Innovation and Development Fund by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM).

The free initiative, developed by Fitzsimons Consulting, is aimed early-stage female entrepreneurs based in rural Ireland who have generated sales no earlier than the end of June 2022.

The deadline for applications for the 11th round of the programme, which has up to 50 places available, is mignight on September 22.

Minister for Agriculture, Food, and the Marine, Martin Heydon today (Monday, July 21) launched the opening of the call for applications for ACORNS 11.

“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," he said.

"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," he added.

The call comes as ACORNS has been selected as Ireland’s national entry for the European Enterprise Promotion Awards, in the Investing in Entrepreneurial Skills category.

ACORNS 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.

Mary B Walsh of Ire Wel Pallets said that it was her pleasure to be a lead entrepreneur on the ACORNS programme for the 11th year in a row.

“I was delighted with the progress from previous participants and to see their development and growth on a personal and professional level.

"I look forward to supporting female colleagues living in rural Ireland at the earliest stage of their entrepreneurial journey," she said.

Last year’s ACORNS 10 saw four businesses start trading during the course of the period.

The combined annual turnover of ACORNS 10 participants grew by 54%, increasing from €2.8 million to €4.3 million.

ACORNS 10 participants employed a total of 104 staff at the end of the cycle, an increase of 15, and 18 participants had export experience at the end of the cycle.