Dublin's Female Entrepreneurs take part in largest National Women's Enterprise Day
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Dublin’s Female Entrepreneurs take part in largest National Women’s Enterprise Day
Female entrepreneurs from across the Dublin Region took part in Ireland’s largest National Women’s Enterprise Day on Thursday 18th October when they attended their local event at Citywest Hotel, Saggart, Co Dublin. An initiative of the Local Enterprise Offices, and now in its 12th year, over 1,400 female entrepreneurs attended National Women’s Enterprise Day events across the country.
At the Dublin event in Citywest Hotel, over 200 local entrepreneurs were in attendance to hear the thoughts of some very inspirational and motivational speakers including Helen Smyth of Facebook, Julie Sinnamon of Enterprise Ireland and Oonagh O’Hagan of Meagher’s Pharmacies.
Master of Ceremonies for the day was renowned TV and radio broadcaster Colette Fitzpatrick and other special guests included Danny McLoughlin, Chief Executive of South Dublin County Council, Councillor Charlie O’Connor, Chairperson of the Tallaght Area Committee and Pat Breen T.D., Minister of State for Trade, Employment, Business, EU Digital Single Market and Data Protection.
The National Women’s Enterprise Day initiative is led by the 31 Local Enterprise Offices nationwide, and funded by the Government of Ireland, in partnership with Enterprise Ireland, Local Authorities and the Enterprise Europe Network. The theme of this year’s National Women’s Enterprise Day was “From Local To Global”, aiming to highlight the success stories of female entrepreneurs who have taken their local ideas and turned them into global success stories with the hope of inspiring more women to do the same.
High profile entrepreneurs that were sharing their success stories at sixteen different National Women’s Enterprise Day events around the country included Oscar-nominated Catherine Roycroft of Cartoon Saloon, Norah Casey of Harmonia, Oonagh O’Hagan of Meagher’s Pharmacy Group, Mary McKenna of Tour America, Marissa Carter of Cocoa Brown and Eleanor McEvoy of Dragons’ Den and Budget Energy.
In 2017, the Local Enterprise Offices (LEOs) played a key role in supporting female entrepreneurs at all stages of their business journey. Over 18,500 female entrepreneurs took part in LEO-led training, mentoring and networking programmes, while the Local Enterprise Offices provided direct funding to 280 female-led businesses in 2017. Over 14,500 female entrepreneurs have already received training or mentoring through their Local Enterprise Office this year alone.
Heather Humphreys T.D., Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation, said; “This is a very significant day that puts Irish female entrepreneurship into the spotlight and celebrates the huge strides Irish businesswomen have made both here and internationally. Today is also an opportunity to inspire the female entrepreneurs of the future, by showing them what is possible and why they should be thinking global. Irish businesswomen have shown they can be the best in the world and we must continue in this frame of mind. The recent budget has shown my Department’s commitment to business and entrepreneurs with a 22% increase in funding for the Local Enterprise Offices and we will continue to back our inspirational female entrepreneurs.”
Pat Breen T.D., Minister of State for Trade, Employment, Business, EU Digital Single Market and Data Protection, said; “National Women’s Enterprise Day is a very significant day in the Irish business calendar. Ireland needs more female entrepreneurs and there is a large range of supports available that can help to make this happen. The aim of today’s events is to showcase and share the success stories of Ireland’s female entrepreneurs as an encouragement for further participation of women in business. The Local Enterprise Offices offer a range of fantastic supports to assist entrepreneurs on their business journey and, on this day in particular, I would encourage all female entrepreneurs to avail of their services.”
Amanda Mills, Senior Enterprise Development Officer with LEO South Dublin, said; “National Women’s Enterprise Day is a key milestone for Local Enterprise Offices around the country. Since it started twelve years ago, the popularity of NWED has grown and every year we have more female success stories in business to highlight. The events are as important as ever, as they connect female entrepreneurs and give them the opportunity to learn from each other and share business challenges and solutions. For any female entrepreneurs in business or starting one up, our advice is to come and talk to the team at the Local Enterprise Office and we will quickly put you on a path to the right enterprise supports. Just start conversation with your Local Enterprise office and we can guide you from there.”
Julie Sinnamon, Chief Executive of Enterprise Ireland, said;“Supporting ambitious business women to achieve their full potential is a key priority for Enterprise Ireland. We have made significant strides in recent years; in 2017 more than one in three start-ups in Ireland were led by women, an increase from one in ten just five years ago. Role models are important as they inspire others to come forward. Enterprise Ireland are working closely with the Local Enterprise Offices to profile successful businesswomen, and to create an entrepreneurial environment that encourages and nurtures the business talents of women across the country. We will continue to support these business women and encourage their global ambition to follow the path of many great Irish businesswomen before them.”
Anna Marie Delaney, Offaly County Council Chief Executive and Chair of the CCMA Economic, Enterprise, Community and Culture Committee, said;“It is fantastic to see the level of interest National Women’s Enterprise Day attracts each year. The event is not only a great opportunity to hear from inspirational women in business, and to showcase what they have achieved, but also provides important networking opportunities for women throughout the country. In the context of Brexit, I am very pleased to see this year’s theme, From Local to Global and I would like to highlight to businesses that their local LEO is on hand to support them in maximising market growth opportunities.”
Further details on the supports available to female entrepreneurs in Dublin are available from www.LocalEnterprise.ie or by contacting Local Enterprise Office South Dublin at 01-4149000 or by email to info@leo.sdublincoco.ie
ENDS
Pictured from left to right are:
Michael McAdam A/Head of Enterprise, LEO South Dublin
Frank Nevin Director of Economic Enterprise and Tourism Development, South Dublin County Council
Councillor Brian Lawlor, South Dublin County Council
Councillor Emer Higgins, South Dublin County Council
Danny McLoughlin, Chief Executive, South Dublin County Council
Councillor Charlie O’Connor, Chair of Tallaght Area Committee, South Dublin County Council
Pat Breen T.D., Minister of State for Trade, Employment, Business, EU Digital Single Market and Data Protection
Amanda Mills, Senior Enterprise Development Officer, LEO South Dublin
Chiara Keating, Event Ambassador and Managing Director of Uniformal Ltd
For all media queries, please contact your Local Enterprise Office.
South Dublin County is one of four local authority areas in the Dublin region.
South Dublin County Council provides and funds a broad range of services including housing, roads, walking and cycling routes, parks and playgrounds, libraries, sports facilities, litter control, arts centres, enterprise units, fire services, community infrastructure and financial supports. It also serves as a platform for local democracy with 40 councillors spread across six electoral areas.
Bounded by the River Liffey to the North and the Dublin Mountains to the South, the County lies 16 kilometres south west of Dublin city centre and has an administrative footprint of 223sq. kilometres. The County has nine main villages Clondalkin, Lucan, Palmerstown, Rathfarnham, Tallaght, Templeogue, Saggart, Rathcoole and Newcastle and is bounded by adjoining counties of Wicklow, Kildare, Dublin City, Fingal and Dun Laoghaire