“We’re stronger together” is the message from the Local Enterprise Offices, at the announcement of events to mark National Women’s Enterprise Day on Wednesday, October 14.

Figures released by Local Enterprise Offices to coincide with the launch reveal that 20,551 female participants took part in training programmes with their Local Enterprise Office in the first six months of 2020, an increase of 58 per cent over the same period last year. There is also greater demand for mentoring support this year, with 3,567 female entrepreneurs taking up the support between January and June 2020, an increase of 19 per cent*.

The interactive events on October 14 for National Women’s Enterprise Day are moving online to LocalEnterprise.ie/NWED and the big themes this year are resilience, self-care, innovation and opportunity. All events in the programme are free of charge and include workshops with experts, panel discussions, a virtual marketplace and facilitated networking to connect more entrepreneurs with each other.

Entrepreneurs that will be sharing their insights and journeys include Olympian-turned-company founder Derval O’ Rourke, Sonia Deasy of the Irish global skincare brand, Pestle & Mortar, Pamela Laird of Moxi Loves and Áine Kerr, the co-founder of Kinzen and RTÉ broadcaster, who is also the M.C. for the day.

Orla Martin, Chair of the National Women’s Enterprise Day Committee and Head of Enterprise with LEO Offaly, said that Local Enterprise Office supports will be highlighted throughout the day to encourage more women to take advantage of them.

She added: “Covid-19 has severely impacted every aspect of doing business in Ireland and there are massive challenges ahead. Throughout the pandemic, Local Enterprise Offices have been helping small businesses respond to the crisis and over 20,500 female entrepreneurs have taken up supports so far in 2020. On National Women’s Enterprise Day on October 14th, we want to show businesses that we’re ‘Stronger Together.’ We also want to show how small changes can make big impacts, how we can learn from each other, how small businesses can cultivate innovation and how international markets can offer new opportunities.”

For more information on National Women’s Enterprise Day and to pre-register for the free events, go to www.LocalEnterprise.ie/nwed or search #NWED on social media.

*Figures released by the Local Enterprise Offices (and compiled by Enterprise Ireland on 17.09.20)