Stronger together is the message for this year’s National Women’s Enterprise day on Wednesday 14th October which will see events moving online www.LocalEnterprise.ie/NWED. The big themes this year are resilience, self-care, innovation and opportunity. All events in the programme are free of charge and include workshops with experts, panel discussions, a virtual marketplace and facilitated networking to connect more entrepreneurs with each other.

Entrepreneurs that will be sharing their insights and journeys include Olympian-turned-company founder Derval O’Rourke, Sonia Deasy of the Irish global skincare brand, Pestle & Mortar, Pamela Laird of Moxi Loves who was a finalist on BBC’s The Apprentice and Áine Kerr, the co-founder of Kinzen and RTÉ broadcaster, who is also the M.C. for the day.

Fiona Deegan, Head of Enterprise with LEO Kilkenny advises that "COVID-19 has severely impacted every aspect of doing business in Ireland and there are massive challenges ahead. Throughout the pandemic, Local Enterprise Offices have been helping small businesses respond to the crisis. On National Women’s Enterprise Day on 14 October, we want to show businesses that we’re ‘Stronger Together.’ We also want to show how small changes can make big impacts, how we can learn from each other, how small businesses can cultivate innovation and how international markets can offer new opportunities."

An example of a Kilkenny based business CF Pharma led by Clare Hughes and her key management team of women (which has come about not by design but by effect) have had to pivot, reflect and then adapt to COVID. Changing work practices and new product launches have been part and parcel of their operations during this COVID period. In order to ensure safety and continuity of business, their workplace operations changed from one single shift to three shifts. But the business has also discovered new markets for some of their product range. One product originally sold in hospitals for wound therapy has already proven efficacy against Corona Virus and now is approved against the Sar-COv-2 by the regulatory authority EPA in the United States. The product was also launched as a sanitiser in response to COVID-19 and CF Pharma were successful winners of the schools sanitiser tender in Ireland -helping to provide a safe return for school goers in September 2020.

Other contributors on the National Women’s Enterprise Day will include Siobhan Kinsella of Chambers Ireland, Alison Richie of Polar Ice, Joanne Hession of LIFT Ireland, Tracy Keogh of Grow Remote, Larissa Feeney of Accountant Online, Deirdre Parkinson of Microfinance Ireland as well as Sheelagh Daly, Anne Lanigan and Marina Donohoe of Enterprise Ireland.

For more information on National Women’s Enterprise Day and to pre-register for the free events, go to LocalEnterprise.ie/NWED or search #NWED on social media.