EMPOWER supports women in business and advances female entrepreneurship across Ireland’s Gaeltacht communities and the West & North-West, providing ambitious female founders with the confidence, tools, and network to START, GROW, and ELEVATE their businesses.

The EMPOWER Programme offers a suite of tailored initiatives for women entrepreneurs, combining expert mentorship, hands-on startup support, and structured business acceleration to turn ideas into thriving businesses and drive regional growth.

EMPOWER START is designed for those with an idea who are seeking to validate their business concept, while EMPOWER GROWTH is for established entrepreneurs wishing to scale and grow their business. Funding for the EMPOWER I & II programmes was granted by the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth and the European Social Fund Agency and was open to applicants from counties Galway, Mayo, Roscommon, Sligo, Leitrim, and Donegal and was a strong source of economic growth for the region.

EMPOWER Cumasú is a free female entrepreneurship programme for female entrepreneurs in the Gaeltacht areas of Mayo, Galway, Donegal, Kerry, Cork, Meath and Waterford. The programme is funded by Údarás na Gaeltachta and delivered by Atlantic Technological University (ATU) Innovation Hubs and the Rubicon Centre at Munster Technological University (MTU).

EMPOWER Cumasú offers two distinct programmes: Cumasú Tús designed for women with a business idea looking for help to take those first steps, or an early-stage business setup less than 18 months ago; delivered online once a week, in the evening over 12 weeks. Cumasú Fás is designed for women with an established business (24 months plus) looking to scale and grow. This programme involves a lot of peer-to-peer support, and is delivered once a month over 10 months, and consists of in person and online sessions.

EMPOWER Elevate is a prestigious 20-month programme designed to create a new ecosystem for established businesswomen in counties Mayo and Galway. This programme was co-funded by Mayo Local Enterprise Office and Galway Local Enterprise Office.