First All-Island Women Founders Summit, Co Fermanagh

Ireland’s first all-island summit for women who founded their own businesses takes place in Co Fermanagh on May 20th-21st. ‘SheVentures’ will pull together over 200 women founders, investors, entrepreneurs, and their supporters in Ireland, say Awaken Hub, the organisers of the event.

The summit offers “unparalleled access to inspiring Irish and international women leaders, including some who have never spoken at an Irish event before,” says Awaken Hub chairperson, Mary McKenna. Speakers include Silicon Valley’s Ann Hiatt who worked directly for Amazon’s Jeff Bezos; Lorna Conn, CEO of Cpl, and entrepreneurs’ champion; and Samantha Barry, Global Editorial Director for the Americas at Glamour magazine.

Women Founders Summit

Mary McKenna says SheVentures offers an “opportunity to hang-out with your tribe of women founders and investors in a friendly and informal setting for a couple of days. But get yourself investor-ready,” she advises. “You might even bag an angel investor or two!”

The summit is being held in the breathtaking and cosy location of Lusty Beg Island, Fermanagh. Sponsored cabins on the premises will offer Master Classes and discussions on challenging themes like Investment, Sustainability, US Market Entry, Sales, Storytelling and Marketing, and Commercialisation. McKenna says these are an ideal chance to learn from experts at first hand.

“She Ventures is not just about offering great speakers. It’s about giving participants access to these speakers and experts for informal chats and discussions throughout the two days. It’s also about extending women founders’ networks of key players, contacts, and investors as they grow their business.”

The summit is being supported and sponsored by the Shared Island Initiative. Tánaiste Micheál Martin said he was delighted that the Shared Island Civic Society Fund has been able to support the work of Awaken Hub and the SheVentures summit. “The Shared Island Civic Society Fund aims to promote practical cooperation and interaction in civic society on this island and the SheVentures summit is a stellar example of the Fund supporting people to come together and make real connections.”

The 2-day event is being MC’d by BBC and TG4 presenter Lynette Fay, and other contributors lined up to take part include the Positive Economist Susan Hayes Culleton, and US and global expert on women’s access to networks and Venture Capital, Kelly Hoey.

There’s accommodation on and off the island and boat/bus transport to shuttle participants back and forth. The summit starts at 9AM on Monday 20th, closing at 4PM on Tuesday 21st. You can book tickets online at: http://sheventures.co.uk

About AwakenHub

Founded in 2020, AwakenHub is a social enterprise dedicated to removing barriers for women founders across the island of Ireland. Its mission is to level up opportunity, access, and connectivity for women founders throughout the Island of Ireland by removing barriers to investment, scale and success and is backed by a community of over 3,000 subscribers.

About AwakenAngels

Launched in 2023, is the first investor syndicate on the island tailored for women, aiming to democratise angel investing.

Highlights of activity first quarter of 2024

• AwakenHub/ AwakenAngels hosted their 2nd US St Brigid’s Week Trade Mission to NYC & Boston in Feb 2024 specially supported by US Special Envoy to NI, Joe Kennedy III & the Irish & British Consulates
• Invited and showcased at the week-long events as part of the NI/Irish delegation to Washington Dec in 11-18 March 2024
• As part of a consortium bid secured EU core consortium partner, we launched the Women TechEU Call – a €12m Fund for women-led startups in Deep Tech & a call for deep tech experts as EU evaluators
• In partnership with Global Tech Advocates launched Tech Northern Ireland Advocates and collaborating with Tech Ireland advocates
• Within 9 months of our AwakenAngels syndicate we have onboarded 50 new women angels across the island of Ireland and counting and closed our first AwakenAngels Syndicate investment deal in April 2024 into a women cyber security company based in the northwest.
• Launched the first all-island summit of Women Founders – She Ventures – which will see Awakenhub/AwakenAngels take over Lusty Beg Island in Fermanagh on 20/21 May 2024.

Speaker bios:

Ann Hiatt is a Silicon Valley veteran with 15 years of experience reporting directly to CEOs Jeff Bezos (Amazon) and Eric Schmidt (Google/Alphabet). She worked directly for Jeff Bezos from 2002-2005 and is a master in all things scaling, calculated risk-taking, and innovation. Renowned as being Silicon Valley’s secret weapon during its golden era, Ann will bring her many years of experience to inspire women founders at Lusty Beg for the SheVentures Summit.

Global Editorial Director for the Americas at Glamour, Samantha Barry is Glamour’s editorial powerhouse and global women’s advocate. Samantha is known for her transformative leadership and unwavering commitment to women’s empowerment globally.

Seasoned leader Lorna Conn is the CEO of Cpl and a champion for the Emerald Isle’s entrepreneurs. Lorna has consistently driven growth as a female leader and is passionate about empowering women entrepreneurs in Ireland and globally.

Recognised by Forbes’ as a ‘Woman Changing the World of VC & Entrepreneurship’ J. Kelly Hoey will unveil the blueprint for unlocking the power of networking for professional success, an exclusive first look into her highly anticipated upcoming book that follows the bestseller “Build Your Dream Network: Forging Powerful Relationships In A Hyper-Connected World”.

Susan Hayes Culleton CFA,  known as “The Positive Economist,” and MD of Hayes Culleton Group, is an advocate for actionable steps, leading by example, and delivering implementable insights to audiences all over the world. An author, business leader, keynote speaker, and mentor, Susan is bringing energy, expertise and bucketloads of wisdom to SheVentures this May.

World-renowned speaker, writer, and authority on the future of work, Monica Parker will delve into the philosophy behind her secrets to meaningful work and a happy life. Monica is the founder of global human analytics and change consultancy HATCH, whose clients include blue-chip companies such as LinkedIn, Google, Prudential, and LEGO, Parker challenges corporate systems to advocate for more meaningful work lives.

Ronan Dunne is the Chair of Six Nations Rugby, NED at Marks & Spencer and Advisor to telecoms companies. Ronan is coming to Lusty Beg Island to share his rich reservoir of wisdom from his tenures with market leading companies like Verizon and Telefonica UK.

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