Ambitious female entrepreneurs and established business owners from Galway are being encouraged to submit their applications to the Going for Growth business development programme.
The call for applications for the 18th cycle of Going for Growth is now open. The programme to aid female business owners in all sectors is supported by Enterprise Ireland and KPMG and is free of charge for those selected to participate.
Application forms can be requested from the website – www.goingforgrowth.com. Completed applications must be returned by midnight, November 21.
Sixty places are available for the new six-month cycle, which is due to begin with a one-day Launch Forum on January 14. The programme will run from January to June, with one round table session each month.
Award-winning pastry chef Gráinne Mullins, founder of the much-loved Grá Chocolates, was a participant on the 15th cycle of Going for Growth.
Gráinne says, “Going for Growth was such an incredible experience for me. I connected with women in a similar position to me, and we could be open and vulnerable to each other about the struggles of having our own businesses.”
“I learned so much over the few months, and having peers that understood and could advise you really helped to keep me on track. I am so thankful for being chosen for the Going for Growth Programme.”
Margaret Rae, who was a participant was a participant on Starting Strong, which is part of Going for Growth but for earlier stage businesses, is the founder and CEO of Konree Innovation, a company dedicated to offering sustainable solutions to reliably manage and control lice in fish aquaculture.
“You know right from the start that you are in safe hands, in an unwaveringly warm and supportive environment led by women who started their businesses, scaled them successfully and may even have exited them.
“Paula Fitzsimons and her team have created a unique, safe, structured and engaging space for women entrepreneurs,” Margaret said.
“There’s no substitute for the meeting we do in person, chats with our peers, invaluable advice shared, and specially selected professional advice brought in. It’s incredibly helpful and a terrific support.”
Gosia FitzGerald is the founder of OnePageCRM, an innovative customer relationship management (CRM) tool designed to simplify sales processes for small businesses owners, entrepreneurs and sales teams worldwide.
Its unique action-focused approach turns CRM into a productivity hub, allowing sales teams to prioritise consistent follow-ups while nurturing key business relationships.
Gosia, who was a participant on the most recent cycle of Going for Growth, says, “It’s hands down the best thing I’ve done for myself as a business owner.”
Going for Growth brings together female entrepreneurs for monthly peer-to-peer roundtable discussions, facilitated by successful businesswomen, known as Lead Entrepreneurs, whose participation is completely voluntary and is done in a spirit of altruism.
Nine of the 11 Lead Entrepreneurs on this year’s programme are former participants in Going for Growth.
They are: Anne Cusack, formerly Critical Healthcare; Chupi Sweetman-Durney, Chupi; Hannah Wrixon, Kella and formerly WrkWrk; Jeananne O’Brien, Artizan Food Co.; Leonora O’Brien, formerly Pharmapod; Louella Morton TestReach; Marissa Carter, Cocoa Brown; Oonagh O’Hagan, Meaghers Pharmacy Group; and Tara Beattie, Prepsheets.com. The other two highly successful Lead Entrepreneurs are: Susan Spence, formerly SoftCo, and Fidelma McGuirk, Payslip.
Going for Growth has been repeatedly recognised by the EU, OECD, and European Institute of Gender Equality as a key initiative in helping to foster greater ambition among female entrepreneurs and to support their growth aspirations.
National Director of Going for Growth, Paula Fitzsimons, said, “We’re delighted to launch the latest cycle of Going for Growth. Over the years, the programme has delivered fantastic results in terms of revenue, employment, and growth into new markets for more than 1,000 female business owners.”
“The end of cycle survey shows how positively the programme is received by its latest participants and the impact that it has had on them personally and on their businesses.”
“I would encourage all ambitious female entrepreneurs and owner/managers looking to increase revenue, create employment, and explore new market opportunities to submit their applications for the 18th cycle of Going for Growth before the deadline of Friday, November 21.”
