Visa Announces Winners of Ireland’s Inaugural She’s Next Grant Programme

Visa today announced the winners of its inaugural She’s Next Grant Programme in Ireland, five women business-owners from across Ireland received a grant of €5,000 and one-year business coaching through IFundWomen to support, grow and expand their businesses.

The programme received over 200 entries from Ireland’s women entrepreneurs with representation from multiple sectors including technology, education, retail and culture.

The judges were particularly impressed by the ingenuity, the passion for their business and the entrepreneurial spirit of the five winning recipients.

“We were blown away by the response to Ireland’s inaugural programme and it’s clear from the calibre of entries that entrepreneurship among women in Ireland is flourishing,” said Dominic White, country manager, Visa Ireland.

“But the feedback we have received from entrants is that women need more support and can benefit hugely from coaching and the opportunity to network with like-minded entrepreneurs. We warmly congratulate the five fantastic winners and look forward to seeing them take the next step in growing their businesses.”

In Ireland, there are nearly double the number of men for every woman who is an early-stage entrepreneur, which is well above the average across the OECD.

More than half (58%) of men in Ireland perceive that they have the necessary skills to start a business, compared to just 38% of women.

The winners of each category are:

· General Small Business: Carolanne Rushe, Sweet Beat, Sligo

· Micro business: Áine McGurk, Dainty Bear, Dublin

· Early-stage business: Rosie Joyce, The Habit Store, Mayo

· Social Impact: Tammy Darcy, The Shona Project, Waterford

· Innovation: Suzanne Moloney, HidraMed Solutions, Galway

Since March 2020, through its global She’s Next Grant Programme, Visa has awarded more than 1.25 million Euros in grants and coaching scholarships to women entrepreneurs across the globe.

“We are extremely proud of our ongoing collaboration with Visa globally, and all that we have been able to accomplish so far through the She’s Next Grant Programme,” said Karen Cahn, Founder and CEO, IFundWomen.

“Visa walks the walk and is consistently offering funding and business resources to women-owned businesses around the globe, so partnering with them to launch the inaugural She’s Next Grant Programme in Ireland made perfect sense for us.”