Business & Finance

NATIONAL WOMEN’S ENTERPRISE DAY –CALLING ALL COUNTY WEXFORD’S ENTREPRENEURS

Female entrepreneurs and budding businesswomen from across County Wexford are being encouraged to look to the future and register for this year’s National Women’s Enterprise Day (NWED) after the line up for the event was announced. The Local Enterprise Office (LEO) initiative, now in its 15th year, will be hosted by entrepreneur and broadcaster Aine Kerr.

Traditionally National Women’s Enterprise Day has taken place locally with LEO Wexford hosting events across the county for female businesswomen or those who may have a business idea they want to get off the ground. Following a successful online programme in 2020, this year’s event will again take place online.

The free event, titled “Build The Future”, takes place online on the 7th October and will feature some of Ireland’s best known female entrepreneurs including the likes of Aimee Connolly of Sculpted by Aimee, Rachel Doyle of The Arboretum and Sharon Keegan of Peachy Lean, who was recently supported on Dragon’s Den UK.

Wexford Leading Light for 2021 is entrepreneur Niamh Hogan, Holos Skincare. Niamh launched her business in 2014 producing an award-winning range of luxurious plant-based skincare that nourishes skin health and helps prevent the signs of premature ageing. In addition to selling their products throughout Ireland, Holos has partners in Austria, Hong Kong and the USA. Holos has always had its eye on the e-commerce space and exploited this position when Covid hit in March 2020 to channel all its resources into driving the online market. In 2020, 67% of all revenue was online, up from only 30% the previous year. Revenue increased by 103%. The focus for Holos going forward is to continue to grow the domestic e-commerce market, partner with like-minded retailers in the B2B space and to grow the US market. The Holos team is made up of six women and their product range is manufactured in-house at their premises in Enniscorthy. Niamh has ambitious plans to grow her business and increase employment over the coming years.

The NWED programme will feature topics such as how to build the future of a business, how to get started, internationalisation, finding new markets, trading effectively online, sustainability and innovation. This will be coupled with breakout rooms for networking and a

BUILD THE FUTURE

ONLINE THURSDAY OCTOBER 07TH 2021

Register for your FREE place today! LocalEnterprise.ie/NWED

L-R: Breege Cosgrave, Assistant Head of Enterprise, Local Enterprise Office, Wexford County Council; Niamh Hogan, Holos Skincare; Liz Hore, Head of Enterprise, Local Enterprise Office, Wexford County Council; Cllr Barbara-Anne Murphy (Chairperson, Wexford County Council).

host of one-to-one advice clinics for any business issues.

New figures released by the Local Enterprise Offices, who are funded by the Government of Ireland and supported by Enterprise Ireland and the Local Authorities, have shown that the number of women engaging in entrepreneurship and business supports continues to rise.

In 2020, over 47,000 women engaged in training and upskilling with their Local Enterprise Office. This was a huge jump on 2019 as 23,466 female entrepreneurs took part in training that year. In 2020, 50% more females engaged in training and upskilling with their Local Enterprise Office than their male counterparts (30,000).

Liz Hore, Head of Enterprise, said: “National Women’s Enterprise Day has always been a day of celebration of the very best in female entrepreneurship and highlighting the strength of that community. The last 18 months has presented significant challenges. However, the responsiveness and ability of female entrepreneurs to adapt, exploit new opportunities and forge new paths is commendable. We look forward to promoting female entrepreneurship in County Wexford through supporting existing entrepreneurs and helping women to develop new business ideas leading to sustainable businesses.

“NWED will explore areas where you can build your business for the future, what areas you need to look at and what supports are there to help you do that. Everyone who registers and attends on the day will not only spend it with a fantastic community of female entrepreneurs and experts from around the country, but they will learn how to build their business or business idea for the future creating jobs at local level here in Wexford.”

Cllr. Barbara-Anne Murphy, only the third female to serve as Caoitherleach of Wexford County Council in more than 120 years of local government, commented on the event: “The National Women’s Enterprise Day in the past has proven to be hugely beneficial to female entrepreneurs as an occasion where they met like-minded women and developed support networks that benefited them as they developed their businesses. The need for positive role models in leadership across business, sport and politics provides the inspiration for women to know they can and do succeed in whatever path they choose.”

Other participants on the day include Gerry Duffy who will be conducting an energising session, Jenny Melia and Sheelagh Daly from Enterprise Ireland on Internationalisation and New Markets, Entrepreneurs Academy’s Noel Davidson on creating connections, Designer Aoife McNamara on starting a business, and a host of others covering all sorts of topics from finance to trading online.

Those looking to attend National Women’s Enterprise Day can find more information and register for free on www.LocalEnterprise.ie/NWED and join the conversation online using the hashtag #NWED. n

Masterplan for Old Dublin Road

The Masterplan for the Old Dublin Road, Enniscorthy, is due for completion around this time, following which the tender for Phase 1 of the works, including pedestrian crossings, welcome signage, new sections of footpath and some landscaping will be prepared. It is hoped that a contractor will be appointed in December 2021 with the intention of undertaking these works in quarter 1 of 2022. n

Register now on VisitWexford.ie

VisitWexford.ie has a number of useful directories for tourists such as accommodation, activities, places to eat, events and more. Businesses can register on Visit Wexford to create, edit and manage business listings on the website. Businesses can manage their own listings there allowing them to keep their business information up to date on a website with a high volume of visitors who use the site as a resource to plan their visit to Wexford. Therefore, it is vital that all information presented on the website is correct. https://www.visitwexford.ie/visit-wexford-business-listing-form/

Attendees at the 2019 Enniscorthy & District Chamber Black Tie Ball.

Chamber Black Tie Ball

The Enniscorthy & District Chamber Black Tie Ball is scheduled to take place in the Riverside Park Hotel on Saturday, 4th December. It promises to be a glittering occasion with a champagne reception, followed by a sumptuous five-course dinner with a choice of wines, dancing to the sounds of ‘Fiesta’, and spot prizes galore. Bookings for tables of 10 at €750 will open on Monday, October 4th, and individual ticket sales will go on sale later in October. Demand is expected to be exceptionally high this year so patrons are advised to book early to avoid disappointment. The guest speaker on the night will be local man Ivan Yates – well-known TV personality, businessman and former politician. For tickets, contact the Chamber at 053 92 32006 or email: admin@enniscorthychamber.ie n

Shaping Wexford’s economic future

Wexford business owners can help shape the economic landscape for the county AND be in with a chance to win a fabulous hamper to the value of €200! Wexford’s Local Enterprise Office is asking Wexford business owners to complete a short survey to help map out the business skills and working requirements of employers across the county. This will take no longer than 4 minutes and can be accessed here: https://bit.ly/3DiXPQ4. Completed surveys will be entered into a draw for the chance to win a hamper to the value of €200 so make sure to enter soon – if you’re not in you can’t win! n

Enjoying the last of the fine summer in Courtown

COURTOWN ON 22nd AUGUST 2021: Top left: Eírinn and Kyle Burke. Top centre: Alex Perlik. Top right: Abbie Fennell, Summy Doody and Brody Grimes. Opposite: Happy with his fish and chips, Adam Stokes. Far right: Harry and mum Corina Davidson. Below left: Ryan Holbrook and Lucy Dempsey. Below right: Telya and Nevach Hunter.