ACORNS 5 ran from October 2019 to April 2020. Forty-eight early stage female entrepreneurs living in rural Ireland completed the programme. At the end of the cycle, all participants reported that participation in ACORNS was of value to their business.
Across Ireland, most businesses were negatively affected by Covid-19 and its associated restrictions. ACORNS 5 were no exception: 73% of participants had their sales negatively impacted by the restrictions. However, three in every four ACORNS 5 participants pivoted their business in some way to take account of the prevailing conditions (75%).
Participants were very positive in terms of their experience of the initiative, with 88% reporting that they made a decision for their business as a result of their participation and 92% reporting that they felt nearing to achieving their ambitions. All would like to continue to be supported by the initiative and be part of a further development phase.