The sixth edition of the Back for Business programme is open to applications from returning emigrants aiming to start and develop their own business.
There are up to 50 places available to support people who have or are thinking about returning to Ireland to start their company.
The scheme, which is funded by the government's Emigrant Support Programme, is aimed at those who have lived abroad for at least a year and have returned in the past three years or those planning to return in the near future.
It aims to address challenges that all early-stage entrepreneurs face, but also focuses on the additional barriers faced by those who have been living outside Ireland for some years.
Participants in last year's programme increased their workforce by 76% and more than doubled their turnover (+107%) during the cycle despite Covid restrictions.
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The closing date for applications is Friday, 6 January, and there is no charge for those selected to participate. Back to Business 6 will run from the end of January to June 2023.
Applicants need to have recently started a new business in Ireland, either on their own or with a business partner; be well advanced in their plans to start and business, having moved well beyond the concept stage; or have become entrepreneurs through the acquisition of an existing business.
If the business is newly established it will not have generated sales before 2022; and if acquired, it will not have been acquired before 2020. Whether the business is new or acquired, the applicant must be a major shareholder and key decision-maker in the venture.
Furthermore, they will have the ambition and expectation of becoming an employer of others within three years. There is no restriction on the sector in which the new business is focused. Preference will be given to those who have returned to Ireland.
Those selected to join Back for Business 6 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: Hannah Wrixon, founder of WrkWrk, formerly known as Get the Shifts; 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.
A Back for Business Community is also being formed for previous participants, who will be offered workshops, review round tables and an annual Community Forum. The programme is designed and implemented by Fitzsimons Consulting.
“Back for Business has been a great success in supporting new businesses founded by returning emigrants across Ireland. New businesses generate economic activity and additional employment across the country," said Minister of State for Overseas Development Aid and Diaspora Colm Brophy.
“I welcome the establishment of a Back for Business Community offering additional support to past participants to further develop their new enterprises. Past participants have made significant progress and I am proud of their achievements.
Hannah Wrixon, one of the Back for Business voluntary lead entrepreneurs, said: “I was lucky enough to receive excellent peer-to-peer support when I was starting out and developing my businesses and it made all the difference.
"It is great to be in a position to give back and to support those at the start of their entrepreneurial journey.”
Photo: Past participants Tom O’Brien, founder and CEO Sprintmodo and Declan Treanor, founder of Performance Treanor. (Pic: Orla Murray/Coalesce)
