Wanted: 60 female entrepreneurs looking to grow their businesses

Going for Growth provides mentoring from Paypal, Tour America and Kilkenny Group

Kilkenny Group’s Marian O’Gorman is one of the mentors in the new round of Enterprise Ireland and KPMG’s Going for Growth. Photograph: Cyril Byrne
Kilkenny Group’s Marian O’Gorman is one of the mentors in the new round of Enterprise Ireland and KPMG’s Going for Growth. Photograph: Cyril Byrne

Enterprise Ireland and KPMG are looking for 60 female entrepreneurs for the next cycle of the popular Going for Growth programme , which has helped over 450 women grow their businesses.

The programme, which will run from February to June 2017, offers a peer support programme aimed at helping women grow their businesses. The selection process is competitive and the critical factor is that successful applicants need to demonstrate a significant desire for growth. Ideally the businesses will be well-established and will have been trading for at least two years.

A number of well-known businesswomen have committed to become voluntary lead entrepreneurs for the next cycle, including Maeve Dorman of PayPal; Mary McKenna of Tour America; and Marian O’Gorman of the Kilkenny Group.

Paula Fitzsimons, the national director of the programme, says Going for Growth demonstrates the success of a collaborative peer-based approach in supporting women to unleash their full entrepreneurial potential and achieve their growth ambitions.

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Ambition and goals

“Our mission in Going for Growth is to support female entrepreneurs to achieve their growth ambitions and to get more female owner/managers into a growth frame of mind. I am delighted to say that we are doing just that through a focus on growth goals, peer support and the sharing of experiences in a collaborative and confidential environment.”

Over 450 female entrepreneurs have participated in the initiative to date, including Marissa Carter of beauty company Cocoa Brown, and Oonagh O’Hagan of the Meagher’s Pharmacy Group.

The deadline for receipt of completed applications is January 20th, 2017. The programme runs over six months and involves a time commitment of two full days (February and June) and four half-days (February to May).

Fiona Reddan

Fiona Reddan

Fiona Reddan is a writer specialising in personal finance and is the Home & Design Editor of The Irish Times