Westmeath, Laois, Longford and Offaly National Women’s Enterprise Day event details
Female entrepreneurs and budding businesswomen from across Westmeath, Laois, Longford and Offaly are being encouraged to ‘Make it happen’, and register for this year’s National Women’s Enterprise Day after the line-up for the event was announced.
The Local Enterprise Office (LEO) initiative, now in its 18th year, will take place on Thursday October 17 and there are 14 events nationwide featuring a range of successful businesswomen, up and coming female entrepreneurs and speakers in areas of sustainability, innovation, networking and marketing.
Some of those involved include Anne Heraty of CPL, Aimee Connolly of Sculpted by Aimee, broadcaster and entrepreneur, Norah Casey, Martina Fitzgerald of Scale Ireland, entrepreneur Chupi Sweetman and broadcaster and podcaster Sile Seoige.
The theme of this year’s event, ‘Making it happen’, will encourage businesswomen to take the next move, whether it is to act on an idea, grow their business or take steps to change or innovate in their business.
The events will outline the supports that are available, from financial and consultancy to training and mentoring, to help them along the way from starting out to taking a business to global markets.
This year the LEO Westmeath, LEO Laois, LEO Longford and LEO Offaly event is in The Crypt beneath St Mel’s Cathedral in Longford. Keynote speaker will be Anne Heraty, founder and former chief executive of CPL Resources plc. Anne received the IMAGE PwC Businesswoman of the Year Lifetime Achievement Award in 2024.
This year the ambassador is Louise Brennan, the driving force behind the successful Fabiani and Mudshot in Longford.
MC on the day is Sinéad Hussey, midlands correspondent for RTÉ news, who will also facilitate a Q&A session.
Internationally recognised soprano, Emer Barry, will share her music industry experiences, highlighting a new business sector for our NWED event.
Director of services for Longford County Council, Barbara Heslin, will open the event and participate in the Q&A session.
Catriona Duffy, business advisor with LEO Westmeath, said: “we have another great day organised to celebrate our women in business for the 18th year of National Women’s Enterprise Day, which is a key event for the LEOs nationwide.
“I encourage all our female entrepreneurs to book their tickets and come along on the day to share stories and there will be lots learning opportunities and have some fun throughout the event.”
The LEOs also run a number of initiatives to foster entrepreneurship across the country, including Local Enterprise Week, the National Enterprise Awards, the Student Enterprise Programme, National Women’s Enterprise Day and Local Enterprise Showcase. The Local Enterprise Offices in local authorities are funded by the Government of Ireland through Enterprise Ireland.
Established in 2014, the Local Enterprise Offices are a resource for entrepreneurs looking to start a business or small businesses looking for support or advice to help them grow.
Since their inception eight years ago, the LEOs have helped create 75,000 jobs across the country. They work with thousands of client companies across Ireland in a diverse range of sectors offering mentoring, training, expert advice and financial supports to small businesses.