Minister Heydon launches ACORNS to Support Female Entrepreneurs in rural areas
- Published on: 21 July 2025
- Last updated on: 22 July 2025
Minister for Agriculture, Food, and the Marine, Martin Heydon, today launched the opening of the call for applications for ACORNS 11 (Accelerating the Creation of Rural Nascent Start-Ups). The deadline for applications is midnight, 22 September.
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.”
Minister Heydon added:
“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.”
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.
Minister Heydon concluded:
“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.”
ACORNS Lead Entrepreneur, Mary B Walsh of Ire Wel Pallets said:
“It is my pleasure to be a Lead Entrepreneur on the ACORNS programme for the 11th year in a row.”
Ms Walsh concluded:
“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."
Notes
ACORNS, which stands for Accelerating the Creation Of Rural Nascent Start-ups, is a free initiative for early-stage female entrepreneurs based in rural Ireland. It is funded through the Rural Innovation and Development Fund operated by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine.
The programme is in its 11th year and was developed by Fitzsimons Consulting.
ACORNS was a runner up in the 2018 European Enterprise Promotion Awards, Investing in Entrepreneurial Skills. The programme is available to early-stage female entrepreneurs living in rural Ireland who have generated sales no earlier than the end of June 2022. There are up to 50 places available. Those wishing to apply must first register their interest via the website (www.acorns.ie). They will then be sent an application by email.
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 who strongly believe in entrepreneurs helping entrepreneurs.
This latest call comes just as ACORNS is selected as Ireland’s national entry for the European Enterprise Promotion Awards, in the Investing in Entrepreneurial Skills category. The programme is also celebrating being named a ‘good practice’ on the EU’s INTERREG Learning Platform.
Last year’s ACORNS 10 was yet another successful programme and has produced real tangible results, such as:
- four businesses started trading during the course of the period
- 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
- eighteen participants had export experience at the end of the cycle
