Social Innovation Fund Ireland, in partnership with Bank of America and the Department of Rural and Community Development, have today announced the Mná na hÉireann - Women of Ireland Fund.
The new fund, which is the first of its kind in Ireland has been established to support charitable and social enterprise organisations that seek to enhance the economic mobility of women, by investing in organisations that provide training, upskilling, education and other services directly to disadvantaged women.
In addition to grant funding, successful organisations will receive a place on an Accelerator Programme, which includes bespoke training from experts across the private, non-profit and public sector. Employees from the bank will also provide mentoring and further tailored training to the successful organisations.
The Programme is specifically designed to equip charities and social enterprises with the skills to expand their business knowledge, drive growth and strengthen their impact across Ireland.
Organisations wishing to apply to the Mná na hÉireann, Women of Ireland Fund can find details on the Social Innovation Fund website www.socialinnovation.ie/mna-na-heireann-fund with the application period open from today until 18 April 2019.
Launching the new ‘Mná na hÉireann, Women of Ireland’ Fund, An Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said, "The €1.8 million fund has the potential to create a lasting impact and transform the lives of the women involved and add value to our society. This initiative also complements the work being done by Government to reduce the gender pay gap in Ireland and ensure greater representation of women across all sectors of Irish society."
CEO of Social Innovation Fund Ireland, Deirdre Mortell added, "Our aim is to support women who find it hard to access the labour market into decent and sustainable work by supporting relevant organisations to empower women by improving their skills, enabling them to seek higher quality, more challenging, and more fulfilling long-term employment. With the establishment of this pioneering fund and working closely with Bank of America and the Department of Rural and Community Development, we aim to empower 1,000 women to find and secure sustained employment over the course of three years."
Source: www.businessworld.ie
