About
Back for Business is an initiative to foster and support entrepreneurial activity among returned emigrants or those planning to return to live in Ireland in the near future.
The six-month part time development programme is aimed at assisting them to start and develop a business. It addresses the challenges that all early stage entrepreneurs face with a particular focus on the additional barriers and challenges faced by those who have been out of the country for some time.
This can often result in their local knowledge, contact base and professional and personal networks being less developed than those of typical entrepreneurs. Back for Business aims to bridge this gap.
Back for Business is based on a model of peer support, entrepreneurs supporting entrepreneurs. Volunteer Lead Entrepreneurs will make their time available to facilitate round tables and to share their experience of starting and growing a business. This approach is well proven as being effective in bringing about increased motivation and confidence among entrepreneurs and having a positive impact on their enterprise development.
Sponsor
This innovative initiative is funded through the Government of Ireland’s Emigrant Support Programme. Thanks to the support provided there will be no charge for those selected to participate in the initiative.
Testimonials
Everyone on the programme is operating at max bandwidth so the Back for Business teams patience and consistent reminders were genuinely critical to making sure we all got the most out of the programme. My Lead Entrepreneur really helped me focus on my vision for the business, which enabled me to fine-tune my strategy.
-Alva Horgan, LoanGuru Business Finance
I would highly recommend the Back for Business programme for anyone that is eligible and wants to get their business off the ground. The roundtable sessions were very valuable and helped me get clear on my goals for the business. Also the feedback I got from the Lead Entrepreneur and the other group members was brilliant as it allowed me to see blind spots that I couldn’t recognise because I was so immersed in the business. I’m very grateful to have been given the opportunity to be part of this programme and it has definitely given me more clarity and direction with the future of my business.
-Cormac Noonan, Wolf Academy
Back for Business accelerated our business idea into a fully-fledged start-up. It provided us with the tools to consider many aspects of business such as finance, marketing, strategy, HR etc. It also provided many networking opportunities and a safe space to explore challenges and solutions.
-Fergus J Walsh, Mellow’s Meadow
Back for Business provided an incredibly valuable structure, information, accountability, and networking opportunities that we really needed to ensure the long term success of our business strategy. I’m so grateful to the whole team at Back for Business for everything they do.
-Gareth Cash, Crew Brewing
For more information about the initiative, please see the website here
