By Business & Finance 
Pictured (L-R): Julie Sinnamon, Paula Fitzsimons and Olivia Lynch
The Irish female entrepreneurship initiative is seeking 60 ambitious female entrepreneurs to take part in its 2016 programme.
The initiative is designed to support women who are serious about growing their businesses and is sponsored by KPMG and Enterprise Ireland. Established in 2009, seven Going for Growth programmes have already taken place, with over 400 female entrepreneurs from across the country taking part in the initiative.
A survey of the most recent Going for Growth group showed that in addition to a boost in confidence, ambition and motivation, 82% of participants increased their turnover by an average of 30% over the course of the programme.
The Going for Growth programme runs over six months and is based on the philosophy of entrepreneurs supporting entrepreneurs.
A number of successful businesswomen take up the role of lead entrepreneurs and act as role models to the selected participants and share their knowledge and experience with them on a completely voluntary basis.
Applicants should be working full-time on the business, which must be located in the Republic of Ireland and must be trading for at least two years. The deadline for receipt of completed applications is November 25th.
Those interested in applying can register their interest on www.goingforgrowth.com and an application form will be sent out immediately.
Paula Fitzsimons, national director and founder, Going for Growth, said: “Our mission in Going for Growth is to support female entrepreneurs to achieve their growth ambitions and to get more female owner managers into a growth frame of mind.”
Julie Sinnamon, CEO, Enterprise Ireland, commented: “Supporting business to scale and compete on export markets is a key priority for Enterprise Ireland. In Ireland, female founders have traditionally been under-represented in their participation in businesses focused on significant growth. We have been working with Paula Fitzsimons and the wider Going for Growth community for a almost a decade, to address this imbalance. The Going for Growth initiative provides invaluable support for ambitious businesswomen, encouraging them to grow their businesses to their full potential. Going for Growth has been a positive partner for Enterprise Ireland in key strategic initiatives and objectives to support female founders and together we have driven Irish female participation rates towards parity with international best practice. Enterprise Ireland endorses Going for Growth as a powerful peer-to-peer initiative in promoting entrepreneurship and diversity in business generally.”
