26 November 2010
NWED 2010 Very Successful Event
300 women in business participated in National Women's Enterprise Day this year, helping to put the success stories of Irish female entrepreneur into the spotlight.
The County and City Enterprise Boards jointly hosted an ‘uplifting’ conference, networking, exhibition and mentoring clinic event in Limerick to mark the day on November 19th.
Collectively, the 35 local County and City Enterprise Boards supported over 13,500 female entrepreneurs last year alone, but men are still three times more likely than women to set up their own business in Ireland. In an effort to bridge the gender divide, the Enterprise Boards came up with the idea for a confidence-boosting ‘National Women’s Enterprise Day’ event every year, to encourage more women to consider setting up a business in Ireland.
Speaking after the conference, Eamon Ryan from Limerick City Enterprise Board highlighted the growing importance of ‘business to business’ networking, especially amongst female entrepreneurs. “For anyone starting a business, making new contacts, finding new suppliers or identifying potential clients is critical for business success and that’s where networking comes in.” He added: “If you’re already in business or looking to set one up, as a starting point you need to find out what enterprise supports are available to you. We’re encouraging all entrepreneurs, and female entrepreneurs in particular, to seek assistance from us around mentoring, training and networking.”
Jennifer Ryan, founder of Pónaire Coffee Roasting Company was one of five case study entrepreneurs, who shared their business stories with delegates at the Limerick Strand Hotel. “If you have any entrepreneurial ideas, now is the right time to follow them through. If you’re going to take a risk, at least take a risk doing something that you’re passionate about and find out what supports are out there,” she said.
Ryan was joined on stage by Alison Boardman from Unique Voice Language Institute in Kerry, Donna Daly Blyth from Donna’s Dance Studio in Cork city, Ann Marie Durkin from Shasta in Longford and Alison Ritchie from Polar Ice in Offaly. The three keynote speakers were Sahar Hashemi, co-founder of the Coffee Republic Chain in the UK, Mary Fitzgerald, local entrepreneur and hotelier, and Ivan Yates, broadcaster and entrepreneur. The conference was officially opened by Mary White, T.D, Minister of State for Equality, Integration and Human Rights and it was facilitated by Paula Fitzsimons from Going for Growth.
National Women’s Enterprise Day was co-funded by the European Social Fund with support from the Department of Justice and Equality, through the Equality for Women Measure. The contact details for all County and City Enterprise Boards are available at
www.enterpriseboards.ie