If you have recently returned to Louth, or are thinking of moving home to set up your own business, you might be interested in a free government programme that helps returned or returning emigrants start and develop businesses in Ireland.
Applications are now open for the latest cycle of a free ‘Back for Business’ programme which is seeking applications from Louth.
Funded by the Department of Foreign Affairs, Back for Business is for those who have returned — or are considering returning — to Ireland and plan to start a business here. This is the seventh year of the programme and there are up to 50 places available.
Applications are invited from those who have recently returned to Co. Louth or are still living abroad but thinking of returning to Co. Louth in the near future.
Back for Business 7 will run from February to June 2024. There is no charge for those selected to participate and the closing date for submitting completed applications is 5pm on Monday, January 15th, 2024.
Those interested can register their interest in receiving an application form on www.backforbusiness.com.
Participants on last year’s programme increased their combined workforce by 17 employees and those that were trading almost tripled their combined turnover from €632,000 to €1.7 million.
Early stage entrepreneurs who have started a business in the last three years or who are about to start a business are being sought. Strong preference will be given to those who have returned to Ireland and who expect to become an employer of others within three years. There is no restriction on the sector in which the new business is focussed.
Those selected to join Back for Business 7 will take part in round table sessions, focused on goals and milestones, which are facilitated by voluntary Lead Entrepreneurs who have experience of successfully starting and growing a business.
This year’s Lead Entrepreneurs are serial entrepreneurs Hannah Wrixon and Paul Coyle; Morgan Browne, CEO of Milner Browne and Enterpryze; Paul Duggan of The Gardiner Group; Seamus Reilly, co-founder and formerly of Critical Healthcare; and Thomas Ennis, founder of the Thomas Ennis Group.
Former participants from County Louth include Aoife Finnegan and Jennifer Provan. Having experienced at first hand the benefits of participation in Back for Business, they encourage others to apply for the programme.
Aoife Finnegan, Curio PR, found the Back for Business programme gave her a laser-focus on her business, while the participants became friends and a source of support for each other. “It was fantastic, such a great programme to be part of. Our Lead Entrepreneur, Hannah Wrixon, wasn’t afraid to ask the hard questions that working on your own you might sidestep. She would really make you focus on all aspects of your business and address things that you might not be good at,” she says.
Jennifer Provan, owner and Director of Dundalk based Kitchenetta Catering, says Back for Business was an amazing experience. “It was very collaborative and very supportive. We gleaned a lot of knowledge from each other and our Lead Entrepreneur, a lot of which we’ve gone on to use,” she said.
“I would highly recommend it. I really enjoyed every minute of it, and I know that all of my group did as well, and we’re all very much in touch since and still supporting each other. It’s been seriously advantageous.”
The deadline for applications for Back to Business is 5pm on Monday, January 15th, 2024. For more information or for an application form, see www.backforbusiness.com
