Entrepreneurship Impact Fund – Strand 3: Minority Entrepreneurship Fund (Ireland)

The Entrepreneurship Impact Fund’s Strand 3 is a unique opportunity for 5 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 will focus on growing and scaling mid-stage minority-led social innovations and 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.

Funding Information

• All five Awardees will receive a cash grant of up to €60,000 per annum over the 3 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:
  • a 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

Ineligible Projects

• Projects that are not eligible to apply are:
  • Projects where research is the primary activity
  • Projects seeking funding for capital assets (such as buildings, vans or equipment)
  • Projects promoting or aligned with a political party
  • Projects that only accept participants of a particular faith or religious denomination
  • Projects focused on animal welfare
  • Projects based outside the Republic of Ireland
  • Projects led by people under 18 years of age
  • Projects that are an idea (only) and that have not yet started

Eligibility Criteria

• This fund is open to organisations that have a not-for-profit legal form, e.g. charity, social enterprise and other voluntary organisations that meet the following criteria:
  • Rethink Ireland Criteria:
    • The project must address a critical social or environmental issue
    • The project must be innovative in an Irish context
    • The project must be based in the Republic of Ireland
    • The project must have the potential and desire to scale or replicate in Ireland
    • The project must provide evidence that it is up and running, or has been tested at least in a minimal way
    • Applicants must come from an entity that has a ‘not for profit’ legal form for example, a charity or voluntary organization
  • Entrepreneurship Impact Fund – Strand 3 Core Criteria:
    • That the social enterprise is minority-led with a focus on supporting social enterprises led by ethnic minorities, migrants and refugees.
    • How the social enterprise impacts on a critical social issue.
    • A proven business model
    • The social enterprise has potential and desire to grow and scale and has the ambition to further explore their business model with a view to scale to new geographies/locations
    • The social enterprise has generated traded income
  • Advantageous criteria:
    • Social enterprises that have a positive effect on Ireland’s Green Transition through their activities/interventions
    • The organisation has a strategic plan, supported by financial projections that outline plans to scale

Ineligibility Criteria

• Applicants that are not eligible to apply are:
  • Applicants under 18 years of age
  • Commercial companies, sole traders and individuals
  • Any staff member from Rethink Ireland and their family members. Family members include siblings, parents, spouses or civil partners or children.
  • Individuals, statutory or public bodies, local development companies, LEADER companies, companies limited by shares, and organisations that are funded 100% by state bodies or agencies and continue to be in receipt of that funding.
  • Any consultant currently working with Rethink Ireland.

For more information, visit Rethink Ireland.