FOR ALL ASPIRING entrepreneurs, gathering the courage to follow your dreams can sometimes be a long internal journey within yourself.
You feel a curious combination of excitement and fear. You may wonder “What if it doesn’t work out?”, instead of thinking “What if it does work out?”
If you’re ready to really go for it and bring your business to the next level, Three Ireland is here to support you.
For the past three years, Three Ireland has provided grants for small businesses to help them achieve their dreams. Each grant is worth €10,000 made up of €5,000 in cash and €5,000 worth of products and solutions from Three.
Every year, ten Irish businesses are selected to receive the grant. Three Ireland has invested over €500,000 in Irish SMEs since the launch of its Three’s Grants for Small Businesses programme. As well as financial support, the group has provided products and services, advertising and PR support, as well as access to industry expertise.
Each grant winner will receive specialist mentorship and support from Three Ireland’s in-house experts.
New for 2023, the award will also include expertise sessions for the top 20 shortlisted applicants. Three will offer key advice across several areas including sustainability, procurement, technology, social media, marketing, product development and public relations.
“At Three Ireland, we’ve seen first-hand what impact the grant programme can have for SMEs,” Padraig Sheerin, judge for Three Ireland’s Grants for Small Businesses programme and Head of SME, Three Ireland, said.
“The feedback we’ve received from previous winners has been extremely encouraging. Each winning business has made incredible strides and I’m proud that Three Ireland has been there to support them in their business development and advance them onto the next stage of their journey.”
To see that first-hand impact for yourself, find out more about some of the previous winners below and how Three Ireland’s Grants for Small Businesses helped them grow their businesses.
Peadar Lyons founded Headhawk to make sports safer for all players. Headhawk was awarded a Three Small Business Grant in 2022, impressing judges with its solution to a common problem in sports, concussion.
Peadar’s experience as a player and a coach meant he was aware of the lack of protocols around concussion. Headhawk provides club medics with a comprehensive injury file from the player’s previous concussions or brain impacts. The club medic can then make a more informed decision about a player returning to the field after an incident, eliminating a lot of stress for teams and players.
The Three grant supported us with software developments, data enabled hardware and the recognition we needed,” said Peadar.
The prize money meant Headhawk could hire a software developer to improve their system. Receiving hardware from Three such as iPads allowed Peadar and his team to take live data from pitches during training and relay it back to the office.
Lastly, the recognition from receiving the grant has been, according to Peadar, “a real game-changer.”
It’s taken us to the next level. I would absolutely encourage small businesses to apply for the Three grant. It has given my company a whole new platform,” he added.
In the words of RunSafe’s founder Megan White, its goal is “to give women back their freedom when they’re running outdoors.” Megan was exercising on holiday and felt unsafe in the area she was running in, but didn’t want to appear nervous or threatened.
She was inspired to create a product that would enable her to stay connected to her friends, stream live footage of her surroundings and have GPS enabled so they know where she is at all times. RunSafe is unique as it focuses on safety rather than fitness like many apps already out there.
RunSafe consists of an app and a harness that is worn when running outdoors. Users place the phone in the harness and live video is streamed, their location is displayed to emergency contacts and users can easily contact someone in case they need help when running.
RunSafe won a Three Small Business Grant in 2022 and the support from the grant has helped RunSafe “go from a concept right up to a working prototype,” said Megan.
The Three funding then allowed me to hire an Irish company to help me develop the app. I was then able to go to a product developer and explain to them what I wanted, that I was trying to make a runner more visible and safer and then come up with the first prototype. I definitely encourage any small business to apply for the Three grant. I started off very early stages and Three has really taken my product to the next level,” Megan said.
More testimonies are available on Three’s YouTube.
Applications open on September 4 and close on October 2. Judging will commence in late October, with the winners announced in November.
List of judges:
Siobhan Finn – National Hub Network Manager for CEAI
Emma Jones – Founder & CEO, Enterprise Nation
Michael O’Dea – Senior Development Adviser, High Potential Start-ups, Enterprise Nation
Sonya Lennon – Entrepreneur and Advocate for Workplace Equality
Padraig Sheerin – Head of SME, Three Ireland
Applications will be open from September 4 until October 2 to all businesses that are based in the Republic of Ireland, have a workforce of 1-9 employees and have been trading for a minimum of 6 months. Applications will be scored and the 20 applicants who secure the highest score will be shortlisted for the judging panel.
Visit Three Ireland for more information.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
have your say