While Ireland now has the third-highest rate for early-stage female entrepreneurs in Europe in 2022 only 37% of high potential start-ups across Ireland were women-led.
The disparity extends to the issue of confidence with a new Visa study with 250 Irish small business owners finding that 93% of men surveyed feel very or completely confident when it comes to evolving their business against 71% of women surveyed. Similarly, 87% of Irish women small business owners surveyed said they were optimistic about the future of their business compared to 98% of men.
To help close the entrepreneurship gap in Ireland, Visa, a global leader in digital payments, is bringing the She’s Next Grant Programme back to Ireland to further support women entrepreneurs to grow their business. The programme is on its third consecutive year and will offer women small business owners the chance to receive one of five grants of €10,000 and one year of coaching with international business experts through IFundWomen, the go-to funding marketplace for women-owned businesses.
Mandy Lamb, Managing Director UK & Ireland, Visa said: “It is encouraging to see Ireland helping pave the way for female entrepreneurs. Women business leaders are absolutely integral to the future of entrepreneurship, and while important progress has been made, there’s still more to be done to address the challenges and obstacles that women-led businesses face.
“That’s why we are taking action, and we’re proud to be bringing She’s Next to Ireland for a third year. With this programme, we want to empower women by providing funding, expertise and coaching so they can achieve their growth aspirations and make a difference to society.
“We had such a positive reaction to the programme so far, with over 60% more entries last year. Our ten grant winners to date have been incredibly inspiring and it’s fantastic to see the emerging entrepreneurial talent in Ireland today.”
Meredith Davis, co-founder of ReFunk UpCycling, one of the She’s Next 2022 winning businesses, said:
“The funding and coaching really helped us take the next step in our business and get in front of more customers. In addition, the coaching sessions on topics such as branding and team dynamics proved invaluable. At ReFunk, we are all about empowering and enabling other women to start and grow their own businesses. Weare very happy to get behind ‘She’s Next’ this year and hopefully our success in being selected will encourage others to enter. This is the extra support that women in business need right now in Ireland, and it is very straightforward to enter.”
Karen Cahn, Founder & CEO at IFundWomen said: “It’s an honour to partner with Visa on the third She’s Next Grant Programme in Ireland. It was encouraging to see the significant growth in applications in last year’s programme and we’re confident that with continued funding and resources, each woman-led business will be able to take the steps to grow with confidence.”
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