Minister for Rural and Community Development, Heather Humphreys, TD, announced the launch of the €400,000 Social Enterprise Start-up Fund.
The Fund will support social enterprises with small grants to help them expand their businesses and create jobs.It is specifically aimed at early stage social enterprises which have a clear ambition to impact a critical social issue.
The objective of the fund is to support social enterprises at the start-up / early stage of their life cycle, to embed strong business principles and, in turn, deliver social impact, create jobs and inspire an emerging, next generation of Irish social enterprises.
The Fund will provide critical support to the most innovative and impactful start-up social enterprises across Ireland, supporting them to:
- Build a plan to grow their social enterprise,
- Map their key stakeholders and customers,
- Create networks within the social enterprise sector,
- Increase their financial sustainability,
- Communicate their vision and mission to a wider audience.