ACORNS, which stands for Accelerating the Creation of Rural Nascent Start-ups, is in its 12th year. It is funded through the Rural Innovation and Development Fund by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine. The programme, which was developed by Fitzsimons Consulting, is based on the belief that early-stage entrepreneurs learn best from their peers.
Minister for Agriculture, Food, and the Marine, Martin Heydon TD, opened the call for applications for ACORNS 12 on July 27, 2026. The deadline for applications is midnight on Friday, September 18, 2026.
Participants will interact with each other in 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. The programme is available to early-stage female entrepreneurs living in rural Ireland who have generated sales no earlier than the end of June 2023. There are up to 50 places available. Those wishing to apply must first register their interest via the website (www.acorns.ie). They will then be sent an application by email.
The longevity and popularity of ACORNS is testament to its importance to rural female entrepreneurs and feedback from the most recent cycle underlines the value of taking part. All 53 participants who completed ACORNS 11 said they would recommend ACORNS to others, while 98% felt closer to achieving their business ambitions following the programme and 94% said their participation had brought about practical change within their business.
Nine businesses began trading for the first time during the last ACORNS cycle. The combined annual turnover of ACORNS 11 participants grew from €4.1m to almost €6m, while the number of people employed by participants rose by 59 to a total of 134 by the end of the cycle. There were also four new exporters among participants by the end of the six-month cycle.
At the launch, Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Martin Heydon said: “ACORNS has consistently provided the skills, and capability needs that female entrepreneurs require when embarking on their business journey. I am acutely aware of the difficulties that entrepreneurial women can come up against when attempting to start new businesses, especially in rural areas, and the ACORNS programme is a real, tangible, mechanism to mitigate and overcome these challenges.”
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, as a result of the support from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine and the voluntary contribution of time by the Lead Entrepreneurs.
Learn how ACORNS has positively impacted Ciara Stanley, Olivia Morrissey and Carina Roseingrave and ensured success for their businesses.
Image source: Orla Murray/Coalesce

