Female small business owners in Mayo invited to apply for She's Next grants

To help close the entrepreneurship gap, Visa has launched its biggest ever She’s Next grant programme in Ireland, which returns for a fourth consecutive year. Female small business owners in Mayo are invited to apply for grants now.

A new study from Visa of more than 300 small business owners in Ireland has found that access to mentorship is their top ask, alongside access to funding and venture capital.

In addition, the research findings highlighted both the challenges faced and the disparity that still exist between female and male small business owners across the country, including: access to funding and venture capital – men are twice as likely as women to have sourced and secured investment for their business (36% men versus 18% women); family support gap – 42% of women pinpointed the struggle to balance family and caregiving responsibilities with business (versus 28% of men); and networking – 55% of women business owners stated they feel nervous walking into a room of strangers (compared to 39% of men).

As part of the 2024 programme, a €10,000 grant will be awarded to four women entrepreneurs and one overall winner will receive €50,000 to help their business thrive.

All five winning applicants will receive mentoring from award-winning entrepreneur and businesswoman Aimee Connolly, CEO and founder of Sculpted by Aimee and MentorsWork, an initiative of Skillnet Ireland.

Mandy Lamb, managing director UK & Ireland, Visa, commented: “While progress has been made to narrow the gender gap in entrepreneurship, our commitment to addressing existing challenges remains resolute. That’s why we’re excited to bring She’s Next back to Ireland again, continuing our mission to empower women entrepreneurs on their business journeys.”

Aimee Connolly, who was appointed Visa’s She’s Next judge and mentor, added: “As a business owner, I empathise with the unique barriers and challenges identified by women entrepreneurs in the Visa study. Programmes like She’s Next are invaluable. The mentoring, coaching and funding can really help women business owners to build confidence and knowledge, not just in their brand and business, but in themselves as leaders too.

“I welcome the opportunity to help with this initiative, championing women business owners in Ireland to learn, grow and achieve their goals, whether that’s expanding into new markets, innovating products or increasing their digital presence.”

To date, Visa’s She’s Next Grant Programme has awarded €125,000 in funding and coaching to 15 women entrepreneurs in Ireland to help them take their next business step.

Visa’s She’s Next Grant Programme is open to small businesses and organisations in the Republic of Ireland that are majority owned by women. With a closing date of October 30, entries can be submitted at www.visa.ie/shesnext. Terms and conditions apply.