ACORNS is inviting female entrepreneurs from Cork to submit their applications for the successful business development programme.

The programme supports women living in rural Ireland who are in the early stages of starting their own business. It has been supporting female entrepreneurs in rural Ireland since 2014.

Dunmanway entrepreneur Clara Mulligan of HomeBot Ireland recently completed the programme. She joins Gemma Kingston of The Family Edit as previous Cork participants calling on businesswomen to sign up.

The free initiative for early-stage female entrepreneurs is funded through the Rural Innovation and Development Fund by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM).

The deadline for applications for ACORNS 12 is midnight, September 18. There are up to 50 places available. Those wishing to receive an application form should register on the website (www.acorns.ie).

After buying a robot vacuum, which ended up breaking soon after it arrived, Clara Mulligan became frustrated with the lack of customer support received from the international supplier. It was this experience that led her to develop her idea of a robotics company that stood over its products and supported its customers – creating HomeBot Ireland which sold its first robot in June 2024.

Clara and her husband Alan have now created a full range of products designed specifically for Irish homes ranging from AI-powered lawnmowers to robot vacuums and mops.

Clara said: ‘ACORNS is a truly inspiring programme that brings together ambitious women who genuinely want to support and elevate one another.’

ACORNS is based on the belief that early-stage entrepreneurs learn best from their peers. Participants interact with each other in the monthly round table sessions, which are facilitated by a Lead Entrepreneur with first-hand experience of starting and successfully growing a business in rural Ireland.

ACORNS 12 will run from October 2026 to April 2027 and will include six monthly round table sessions, a briefing by various development agencies and an end-of-cycle celebration.

There will be no charge for those selected to participate in ACORNS 12, thanks to the continuing support of the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine and the voluntary contribution of time by the Lead Entrepreneurs.

Each of the Lead Entrepreneurs gives their time to the programme on a voluntary basis, as they believe in the philosophy of ‘entrepreneurs helping entrepreneurs’.