Back for Business programme now open to returning Louth emigrants

Back for Business, the free government programme that helps returned emigrants start and develop businesses in Ireland, is now open to applications from people who have recently returned to Louth, or are still living abroad but thinking of returning in the near future

Those eligible to apply include returned Irish emigrants who have lived abroad for at least a year and have returned to Ireland in the last three years, and emigrants currently living abroad who are planning to return to Ireland in the near future. 

Now in its eighth cycle, the programme will run from February to June 2025 and there is no charge for those selected to participate. Up to 50 places will be available nationally. Eligible candidates have until Thursday, January 16, to submit their applications. Those interested can apply through www.backforbusiness.com. 

Funded by the Irish Abroad Unit, Department of Foreign Affairs, the programme was created to foster and support entrepreneurial activity among emigrants recently returned to Ireland. Since launching in 2017, Back for Business has helped entrepreneurs who are returned emigrants to significantly grow sales and employment. It also addresses challenges that all early-stage entrepreneurs encounter, but also focuses on additional barriers faced by emigrants who have been living away from Ireland. 

Participants on the last cycle, Back for Business 7, quadrupled their collective turnover from €300,000 at the start of the programme to €1.2million at its conclusion. Their collective employee numbers also increased from 14 to 47 during the cycle. 

Back for Business 8 participants will take part in round table sessions focused on goals and milestones, which are facilitated by voluntary Lead Entrepreneurs who have experience of successfully starting and growing a business.   

The 8th cycle’s Lead Entrepreneurs are: serial entrepreneur Hannah Wrixon; Morgan Browne, CEO of Milner Browne and Enterpryze; Paul Duggan of The Gardiner Group; Seamus Reilly, co-founder and formerly of Critical Healthcare; Sinead Doherty, founder and CEO of Fenero; and Thomas Ennis, founder of the Thomas Ennis Group. A Back for Business Community is also being formed for previous participants, who will be offered workshops, review round tables and an annual Community Forum.

Former participants from Co. Louth include Jennifer Provan and Oran Finegan. Having experienced at first hand the benefits of participation in Back for Business, they encourage others to apply for the programme.

Before leaving Ireland, Jennifer Provan was working in hospitality after studying Hospitality Management, and she set up her own catering company and two cafés while living in Glasgow. Ultimately, however, she had always wanted to return to Ireland and, after 21 years in Glasgow, the couple took the opportunity to do so when their son went away to college. 

When she returned home, she set up Kitchenetta Catering, which caters for all events big or small using local, sustainable, seasonal Irish ingredients. Jennifer says Back for Business was an amazing experience. “It was very collaborative and very supportive.

"We gleaned a lot of knowledge from each other and our Lead Entrepreneur, a lot of which we’ve gone on to use,” she says. “I would highly recommend it. I really enjoyed every minute of it, and I know that all of my group did as well, and we’re all very much in touch since and still supporting each other. It’s been seriously advantageous.”

Oran Finegan had spent 25 years working as a leading forensic specialist with the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) when the opportunity arose to take the methods he had learned in conflict and post-conflict zones around the world and apply them back home in Ireland.

A native of Carlingford, Co. Louth, Oran set up his company, Forensic Action International, shortly after his return to Ireland in October 2023. Oran believes the Back for Business programme gave him a “step up” in his bid to develop the business. “I have a huge amount to learn and having the structure that the programme provided, as well as access to likeminded entrepreneurs, was fantastic for helping me bridge that knowledge gap,” he says.

Back for Business Lead Entrepreneur Thomas Ennis says: “I was lucky enough to receive excellent mentoring when I was starting out and it made all the difference. It is great to be in a position to give back and to support those at the start of their entrepreneurial journey.”

Back for Business has been designed and is being implemented by Fitzsimons Consulting, specialists in areas related to entrepreneurship and growth. The deadline for completed applications for Back to Business 8 is midnight on Thursday, January 16th, 2025. For more information or to register your interest in receiving an application form, please see www.backforbusiness.com