Entrepreneurship Impact Fund – Strand 3: Minority Entrepreneurship Fund
Supporting minority-led social enterprises
The Entrepreneurship Impact Fund 2023-2026 is a three-year fund, supported by a private donor, which aims to have impact across three strands:
Strand 1: The Social Innovation Growth and Scaling Fund (launched November 2023)
Strand 2: Youth Entrepreneurship Incubators (launched December 2024)
Strand 3: The Minority Entrepreneurship Fund (launched January 2025)
Ireland faces continuing critical social issues across health, education, equality, and the green transition sectors. One of the key problems confronting social enterprises is the difficulty of scaling their operations and social impact. Insufficient funding in terms of both scale and duration to align with their aspirations, as well as a shortage of suitable capacity-building supports are key barriers.
The Entrepreneurship Impact Fund’s Strand 3 is a unique opportunity for five minority-led social enterprises, taking an entrepreneurial approach to social change, to get support to deliver sustained individual and collective solutions across communities over a three year period and beyond.
The fund, worth a total of €900,000, focuses on growing and scaling early/mid-stage minority-led social enterprises that have proof of impact, but require additional support to reach the next stage of growth. It will provide multi-year funding and targeted support in the areas of scaling, investment and procurement readiness, organisational resilience, leadership, impact measurement, and financial sustainability.
For the purpose of this fund, the focus will be on supporting social enterprises led by ethnic minorities, migrants and refugees.
All five awardees receive a cash grant of up to €60,000 per annum over the three-year period and a tailored non-financial supports package*. This will include supports such as strategic planning, communications planning, impact management and fundraising strategy development.
Capacity building supports include:
- Place on Rethink Ireland’s Capacity Building Programme
- Bespoke business and one-to-one consultancy supports delivered by experts consultants and designed in consultation with the successful projects on topics such as scaling, financial sustainability, investment readiness, organisational resilience, and impact measurement
- Access to Rethink Ireland’s networks
Awardees
APNI
The African Professional Network of Ireland (APNI) is a nonprofit organisation dedicated to empowering professionals and entrepreneurs of African descent to thrive in Ireland.
Through strategic partnerships, career development programmes, and business support, APNI fosters employment and economic inclusion, leadership and innovation.
ArtsEkta
| ArtsEkta is a multi-award winning social enterprise that works to develop intercultural relationships at the heart of the community and is home to the Belfast Mela – the largest celebration of cultural diversity on the island of Ireland.
The brainchild of Indian native Dr. Nisha Tandon OBE, ArtsEkta was founded in 2006 on the principles of inclusivity, creativity and openness in all aspects of society – Ekta means ‘uniting’ in the Indian language. Bringing together communities, they create projects that inspire audiences to engage with the diversity, tastes, rhythms and sights that make up the multicultural life of Ireland. |
Cena
The aim of Cena, as a Traveller-led Approved Housing Body, is to provide culturally appropriate accommodation for and with Travellers.
Their development model is informed by the understanding that there are substantive and unique challenges associated with providing adequate and appropriate accommodation for Travellers in Ireland.
ELSA Community Services
ELSA Community Services is a social enterprise providing local security services and creating employment – with a focus on supporting members of the Traveller community.
Their Traveller Employment Progression (TEP) Project will address discrimination in employment for Traveller and Roma communities by scaling the model they use in North Dublin and replicating it nationally.
We Make Good
We Make Good is Ireland’s biggest textile manufacturing social enterprise, creating training and employment opportunities for people from disadvantaged backgrounds.
Based in Dublin, their professional textile workshop specialises in repair, alterations, and sustainable manufacturing.
By combining high-quality craftsmanship with inclusive training programmes, they build circular solutions for textiles – turning waste into opportunity and supporting a fairer, more sustainable economy.
