NextWave, a new national women founders accelerator programme, has started today, offering tailored supports for female entrepreneurs who have founded high-potential start-ups. This ten-week programme is focused on supporting participants to build momentum towards investor-readiness and accelerate their path to growth.
Delivered in collaboration with Enterprise Ireland and the Irish BICs, AxisBIC, Furthr, Propelor, and WestBIC, the NextWave programme offers participants bespoke mentorships, structured learning, and peer connection, with a focus on supporting them to secure pre-seed or seed investment, including Enterprise Ireland’s Pre-Seed Fund (PSSF) and High Potential Start-Up (HPSU) investment.
Twenty-four companies have been selected to participate in this initial pilot phase of the programme, and these companies span a wide range of sectors, including digital technologies, life sciences and healthtech, as well as food tech and consumer. The cohort also reflects strong regional diversity, with more than half of participant companies based outside Dublin.
The focus of NextWave is to foster a founder-first community, and participants will benefit from:
- Anchor Mentorship from local experts
- Direct access to the Enterprise Ireland startup team
- WaveMaker Mentorship with sector-specific founder-mentors
- Investor engagement through Funders-in-Residence and round-robin meetings
- Storytelling via a creative studio session with a branded video
- Post-programme support and signposting.
By the end of the ten-week accelerator, participants will have developed a clear and compelling business narrative, validated their product or service with early traction, and strengthened their investor readiness through structured support. They will also gain access to tailored mentorship and funding networks, while building enduring connections within a trusted peer community designed to support their continued growth.
Speaking about the launch of the new programme, Jenny Melia, CEO, Enterprise Ireland, said: “Enterprise Ireland is proud to support the launch of NextWave, a transformative new accelerator designed to support women founders to validate and build investor-ready businesses that can scale internationally. This pilot programme reflects our ongoing commitment to advancing female entrepreneurship and ensuring that women across Ireland have access to the expertise, resources, and funding networks needed to grow successful, high impact companies.
We are delighted to collaborate with our partners in the Irish BICs to deliver this initiative and look forward to seeing the innovation that will emerge from this exceptional cohort of founders.”
Conor O’Donovan, Department Manager, Startups & National Enterprise Hub, added:
“NextWave is an innovative step in strengthening Ireland’s startup ecosystem by ensuring that women founders have the tailored support they need to succeed. We’re looking forward to delivering a high impact experience that helps participants refine their narrative, develop their product or service and accelerate their path to growth and investment.”