Female entrepreneurs listen up, ACORNS wants you. ACORNS (Accelerating the Creation of Rural Nascent Start-ups) is a programme aimed at female entrepreneurs who have recently started a business or who have taken concrete steps towards setting up a business.

The programme aims to provide these entrepreneurs with knowledge, support and networking opportunities to expedite the development of their enterprise.

This will consist of interactive round table sessions, that are facilitated by other female entrepreneurs who have started and successfully grown businesses in rural Ireland. These will take place once a month for six months.

The women must live in a rural area, which for this programme is defined as all areas of the country outside the administrative city boundaries of Dublin, Cork, Galway, Limerick and Waterford.

There are 50 places available on the programme and there is no charge for successful participants.

Applicants must have set up a business no earlier than 9 July 2013, which they either own or part-own. Those who are not already trading must be actively planning a new business and have a clear idea of what they want to achieve.

In this vein, activities such as organising the startup team, looking for equipment/facilities, saving money for the startup, or writing the business plan, may all merit a place on the programme.

The programme is funded by the Department of Agriculture and CEDRA.

Commenting on the programme, Minister for Agriculture Simon Coveney said: “I hope that by targeting female entrepreneurs, who are currently under-represented in startup enterprises, we can increase the level of business and employment generation in rural areas.”

Minister of State for Rural Affairs Ann Phelan added: “Rural women’s entrepreneurship clearly represents an untapped potential and can contribute significantly to our economic growth.”

Female entrepreneurs interested in applying for the ACORNS programme can access information and register their interest at www.acorns.ie. Application forms will be sent to interested applicants immediately.

The closing date for the receipt of completed applications is Friday 11 September 2015.

The pilot programme will begin on 30 September at the ACORNS residential Forum in Portlaoise, Co Laois.