Peer-led growth for women founders

Going for Growth

Going for Growth is designed to support women who are serious about growing their businesses and are the owner manager of a business which has been trading for at least two years. At Going for Growth, we believe that entrepreneurs learn best from each other. Accordingly, the initiative is based on interactive roundtable sessions that are facilitated, not by consultants, academics or professional trainers, but by successful entrepreneurs.

Who is it for?

Going for Growth is for ambitious female entrepreneurs across all sectors who are located in the Republic of Ireland. The entrepreneur should already be the owner manager of a business of which she is a major shareholder and key influencer.
Suitable applicants need to demonstrate significant aspiration for growth and should be working full time in the business. It is expected that the business will have been trading for at least two years.
Applications will also be considered on an exceptional basis from candidates who have more recently set up businesses that are highly innovative and demonstrate significant ambition and expect to be selling in export markets. These businesses, however, must have generated some sales or raised significant equity investment.

What do you get?

Participants are offered a unique learning environment with a peer led approach based on the shared experiences of both a Lead Entrepreneur and other participants facing common challenges.
The Going for Growth round tables are centred on experienced or Lead Entrepreneurs, who each give about three hours of their time on a voluntary basis once a month to meet with a small group of women owner/managers to support their development. The round table sessions explore a series of relevant questions related to growth and work through a series of agendas which explore relevant questions with a focus on achieving growth.
The initiative has been endorsed by some successful business women who have agreed to become involved in the initiative as Lead Entrepreneurs. (Read more about the Lead Entrepreneurs here). These busy and successful business women have agreed to give their time on a voluntary basis to support women entrepreneurs to achieve their growth ambitions.
The most important attributes of the Lead Entrepreneurs are that they have experience of growing a business and have personal experience of the growth journey on which the participants are embarking. Each is prepared to share her learning with women entrepreneurs committed to growth, but whose businesses are less developed at this stage.
Going for Growth is designed to be action and results oriented and to go beyond class room style learning and the usual inputs of professional trainers, consultants and academics. The round tables are designed not to be theoretical or academic, but to be based on real experience of what has worked and what hasn’t worked in real life situations.

What can it be used for?

The key element of this initiative is the manner in which it is led and championed by the private sector and supported by the public sector. The calibre of the lead volunteers underpins the success of the initiative and the fact that the groups are composed exclusively of women contributes to a full engagement by the participants

How it works

The call for applications is currently closed. The next cycle of Going for Growth (including Starting Strong) will run from January to June 2027. If you are interested in applying, you can register your interest here and you will be sent a link to the application form as soon as they become available (Oct 2026). https://goingforgrowth.com/registration/

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Need advice? Speak with one of our expert Hub advisors to learn more about this support and discover how it could benefit your business.

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