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A founder-led, all-island programme
WeBuild
Programme for women founders developing innovative or tech-enabled ventures. Focus on digital capability, AI awareness, innovation mindsets, and future-ready business models, supported by mentoring and peer learning.
You may be eligible if:
- Be women-led or women-founded business
- Be based on the island of Ireland
- Have fewer than 250 employees and less than £40m (or euro equivalent) in annual turnover
- Be a registered business (pre-revenue applicants are eligible)
- Be at an early or growth stage, demonstrating a clear opportunity for a technology-enabled solution or innovation
- Demonstrate early-stage business planning, market research, user validation, and/or a technical proof of concept showing potential traction
- Demonstrate ambition for significant growth, with potential to grow the business to at least £250K turnover (including 25% external sales) within three years, seek investment, and/or secure investment.
- Sole Traders and Social Enterprises that satisfy the eligibility criteria are welcome to apply.
- Support is primarily available to businesses developing innovative products, services, systems or processes with clear commercial potential.
- Businesses whose core activity is in the following sectors are not normally eligible for support: Wholesale, retail, distribution, tourism, hospitality, primary agriculture, personal services, and professional business services.
- However, businesses from these sectors may be eligible where they are developing and seeking to commercialise a new product, service, technology, system or process that goes beyond their core business activity.
structured guidance to help women researchers
WeVenture - Ideation Strand
This phase supports women who are ready to start shaping early commercial ideas in a supportive, collaborative setting. You’ll develop your concept with practical guidance, meet role models, and gain the confidence to take the next steps toward building a venture. Applications will open in June 2026.
- Any woman in research;
- Postgraduate Researcher: Master’s Doctoral Researcher, Postdoctoral Researcher, Research Fellow, Research Associate, Research Scientist, Senior Researcher, Principal Investigator, Lecturer, Assistant Professor, Senior Lecturer, Associate Professor, Professor, Research Director, Head of Research levels;
- From any sector or discipline;
- Affiliated with a regional college, research center, or university;
- Located on the island of Ireland;
structured guidance to help women researchers
WeVenture - Ideas and Opportunities
The WeVenture: Ideas and Opportunities programme is a six-week masterclass for women researchers who want to explore the commercialisation process.
This programme is open to:
- Any woman in research;Postgraduate Researcher: Master’s Doctoral Researcher, Postdoctoral Researcher, Research Fellow, Research Associate, Research Scientist, Senior Researcher, Principal Investigator, Lecturer, Assistant Professor, Senior Lecturer, Associate Professor, Professor, Research Director, Head of Research levels;From any sector or discipline;Affiliated with a regional college, research center, or university;Located on the island of Ireland;
- Places are awarded on a first-come, first-served basis. InterTradeIreland reserves the right to apply additional assessment criteria to the WeVenture Programme. Management decisions are final in these matters.
- Applicants involved in activities associated with gambling, significant health risks, immoral activity, or any activity that could negatively impact the reputation of InterTradeIreland will not be supported.
Supporting early-stage female entrepreneurs living in rural Ireland
ACORNS
The ACORNS programme has been designed to support early-stage female entrepreneurs living in rural Ireland and runs over six months part-time. Based on a belief that entrepreneurs learn best from each other, the ACORNS initiative is centred around interactive round table sessions that are facilitated by female entrepreneurs, known as ‘Lead Entrepreneurs’, who have started and successfully grown businesses in rural Ireland.
- To qualify for consideration, the entrepreneur (i) must have recently set up a new business which she owns or part owns, and which has generated sales no earlier than end June 2023 or (ii) must be at an advanced stage of planning a new venture and have a clear idea of what she wants to achieve.
- She must also be living in a rural area.
- These are all areas of the country outside the administrative city boundaries of Dublin, Cork, Galway, Limerick and Waterford.