Alan Dillon (Mayo, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

The Enterprise Ireland (EI) Action Plan for Women in Business was launched in 2020 to influence fundamental and lasting change to the overall enterprise landscape. It incorporates four objectives:

• Increasing the number of women-led companies growing on international markets.
• Increasing the number of women in middle and senior management and leadership roles in Irish companies.
• Increasing the number of women becoming entrepreneurs.
• Increasing the number of women-led start-ups with high growth.

My Department has supported Enterprise Ireland in delivering a number of initiatives to encourage diversity, promote female entrepreneurship and increase the number of women-led High Potential Start Ups (HPSU), including dedicated funding for early-stage female entrepreneurs and capability building combined with peer-to-peer networking. Strong gains have been made in this area, including growth from 7% of EI backed HPSUs at first seed stage including a woman founder in 2011, to 28% by 2023. In 2023 and 2024, 45 investments in women-led start-up companies were approved by EI across High Potential Start Up (HPSU), Pre-seed Start Fund (PSSF), and pre HPSU. In 2020-2024, there was a total of 126 female HPSU investments.

As an initiative of the Action Plan, the Level Project Toolkit launched in 2021, aimed to help businesses develop gender balanced leadership teams. The toolkit assists companies to assess their own positions and put in place measures to help improve gender balance within their own senior teams.

EI partners with the Irish Venture Capital Association for an annual series of events to bring female founders together on the topic of raising capital and linking to VC funders through workshops and a networking event. There are requirements for all EI supported Seed & VC funds to report on gender for both decision makers in the funds and the investments made. 70% of Enterprise Ireland supported Seed & Venture Capital funds have women at partner/investment manager level and a report from financial data and research firm PitchBook shows €100 million invested by venture capital (VC) firms in Irish women founders in 2023.

My Department, through Enterprise Ireland, supports specific regional events in partnership with BICs and Institutes of Technology for peer-to-peer learning, advocate for female entrepreneurship and ensure pipeline of Women in STEM including supporting Women in Business Network Annual Awards and Young Entrepreneurship Programmes.

Women in Technology is another important aspect of the support and implementation of the Action Plan with my Department supporting Diversity in Technology events such as Tech Found Her and Scale Ireland/Tech Ireland events.

The Local Enterprise Offices (LEOs) are actively engaged in encouraging and inspiring an increase in female-led businesses through initiatives such as the annual National Women’s Enterprise Day (NWED) and the Women in Business Networks. NWED is a strategic annual initiative of the LEOs and is supported by my Department, Enterprise Ireland, and local authorities. Female entrepreneurs are continuing to show strong numbers within the Local Enterprise Office network for accessing training and mentoring. They outnumber their male colleagues when it comes to upskilling with double the number of females than males accessing training.

Alan Dillon (Mayo, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

The Enterprise Ireland (EI) Action Plan for Women in Business was launched in 2020 to influence fundamental and lasting change to the overall enterprise landscape. It incorporates four objectives:

• Increasing the number of women-led companies growing on international markets.
• Increasing the number of women in middle and senior management and leadership roles in Irish companies.
• Increasing the number of women becoming entrepreneurs.
• Increasing the number of women-led start-ups with high growth.

My Department has supported Enterprise Ireland in delivering a number of initiatives to encourage diversity, promote female entrepreneurship and increase the number of women-led High Potential Start Ups (HPSU), including dedicated funding for early-stage female entrepreneurs and capability building combined with peer-to-peer networking. Strong gains have been made in this area, including growth from 7% of EI backed HPSUs at first seed stage including a woman founder in 2011, to 28% by 2023. In 2023 and 2024, 45 investments in women-led start-up companies were approved by EI across High Potential Start Up (HPSU), Pre-seed Start Fund (PSSF), and pre HPSU. In 2020-2024, there was a total of 126 female HPSU investments.

As an initiative of the Action Plan, the Level Project Toolkit launched in 2021, aimed to help businesses develop gender balanced leadership teams. The toolkit assists companies to assess their own positions and put in place measures to help improve gender balance within their own senior teams.

EI partners with the Irish Venture Capital Association for an annual series of events to bring female founders together on the topic of raising capital and linking to VC funders through workshops and a networking event. There are requirements for all EI supported Seed & VC funds to report on gender for both decision makers in the funds and the investments made. 70% of Enterprise Ireland supported Seed & Venture Capital funds have women at partner/investment manager level and a report from financial data and research firm PitchBook shows €100 million invested by venture capital (VC) firms in Irish women founders in 2023.

My Department, through Enterprise Ireland, supports specific regional events in partnership with BICs and Institutes of Technology for peer-to-peer learning, advocate for female entrepreneurship and ensure pipeline of Women in STEM including supporting Women in Business Network Annual Awards and Young Entrepreneurship Programmes.

Women in Technology is another important aspect of the support and implementation of the Action Plan with my Department supporting Diversity in Technology events such as Tech Found Her and Scale Ireland/Tech Ireland events.

The Local Enterprise Offices (LEOs) are actively engaged in encouraging and inspiring an increase in female-led businesses through initiatives such as the annual National Women’s Enterprise Day (NWED) and the Women in Business Networks. NWED is a strategic annual initiative of the LEOs and is supported by my Department, Enterprise Ireland, and local authorities. Female entrepreneurs are continuing to show strong numbers within the Local Enterprise Office network for accessing training and mentoring. They outnumber their male colleagues when it comes to upskilling with double the number of females than males accessing training.