The deadline for applications for the Back for Business programme for returned or returning emigrants is this Thursday (16 January) at 5pm.

Now in its eighth year, there are up to 50 places available to emigrant entrepreneurs who have returned to Ireland or are planning to do so soon.

The programme will run from February to June, starting with a launch forum on 11 February. There is no charge for those selected to participate.

The scheme, which is funded by the Irish Abroad Unit in the Department of Foreign Affairs, was created to foster and support entrepreneurial activity among Irish emigrants returning to live in Ireland.

Back for Business is aimed at those who have lived abroad for at least a year and have returned in the last three years or those planning to return in the near future.

It addresses challenges that all early-stage entrepreneurs encounter 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 grew their combined workforce by 33 employees and experienced a four-fold increase in their combined turnover from less than €300,000 at the start of the cycle to €1.2m.

Eligible applicants will have either recently started a new business in Ireland, or will be well advanced in their plans to start a business and have moved well beyond the concept stage, or they are becoming/have become entrepreneurs through the acquisition of an existing business.

If the business is newly established, it must not have generated sales before 2022. If acquired, it will not have been acquired before 2022.

In respect of the business whether new or acquired, they will 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, but preference will be given to those who have returned to Ireland in the last three years.

Those selected to join Back for Business 8 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 entrepreneur Hannah Wrixon; Morgan Browne, founder and CEO of Milner Browne and Enterpryze; Paul Duggan of The Gardiner Group and Athrú Insights; Seamus Reilly, co-founder and formerly of Critical Healthcare; Sinead Doherty, founder and CEO of Fenero; and Thomas Ennis, founder of the Thomas Ennis Group.

“I was lucky enough to receive excellent mentoring when I was starting out 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," said Ennis.

Back for Business has been designed and is being implemented by Fitzsimons Consulting, specialists in areas related to entrepreneurship and growth. 

For more information or to register your interest in receiving an application form, see backforbusiness.com.

Photo: (l-r) Aisling McVeigh, DANU Communications & Events Ltd; Thomas Ennis, Thomas Ennis Group; and Barra Kelly, SHD Consulting Engineers. (Pic: Orla Murray/Coalesce)