Enterprise Ireland’s national women founders accelerator programme kicks off with twenty-four high-potential start-ups

Pictured L-R: Sarah Walker, Senior Executive, Enterprise Ireland, Elaine Fitzgerald-McBarron, Co-Founder & Director verða, Marion Cantillon, Founder of Pitseal, Deirdre Monks, Co-Founder of CONVIO AI, Joanna Frivet, CEO and Co-Founder, LegalMoov, Teri Smith, Department Manager, Local Enterprise Centre of Excellence & Enterprise Europe Network, Enterprise Ireland and Majella Murphy, Head of Acceleration, Furthr

• NextWave is a new  accelerator designed to support women founders to validate, build and scale investor-ready businesses
• 24 companies will participate in this hybrid 10-week programme

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.”

ENDS

For further information, press@enterprise-ireland.com 

Notes to the Editor:

Company Profiles 

• An Even Better Place to Work - An Even Better Place to Work is a CPD-accredited online platform empowering teams to take charge of workplace culture. Its real-time tools build motivation, trust and collaboration – reducing absenteeism, boosting productivity, lowering turnover and creating happier, more productive workplaces.

• Building Bones - Building Bones is a digital health platform that aims to improve bone health, reduce fall and fracture risk and improve osteoporosis outcomes. It offers a consumer facing application that builds personalised programs and a platform that integrates into care pathways enabling remote monitoring.

• Chemokeyp - Chemokeyp helps sponsors deliver clinical trials faster and with greater confidence. The company’s mission is simple: make safety data move at the same speed as science. Faster trials, safer patients.

• CloudLoq - CloudLoq supports Health and Safety directors in streamlining access control on construction sites. Its tailored solution can be accessed anywhere, improving the induction process, ensuring compliance, and providing enhanced data insights.

• CONVIO AI- CONVIO AI helps hotels automate guest communications, boost direct bookings, and offer personalised 24/7 service through AI-powered voice and chat assistants. Its easy-to-use platform manages bookings and enquiries, freeing staff to focus on delivering exceptional guest experiences.

• CRAOI - CRAOI is the first of its kind and all-in-one CSR and Impact Solution for People, Purpose & Planet. Its gamified app drives wellbeing, sustainability, and social impact, while the Impact Dashboard delivers real-time, CSRD-aligned insights— making employees’ lives better and HR leaders’ jobs easier.

• Crust Gluten Free - Crust Gluten Free specialises in producing and supplying Coeliacs and those with a gluten or wheat intolerant with high quality certified gluten free baking mixes and a cook from frozen baked product.

• Diotima - Diotima is chosen by education leaders to enhance teaching with personalised, curriculum-aligned feedback at scale, reducing effort, delivering deep insights and better learning. Unlike generic AI tools, Diotima is built for education, blending pedagogical depth with safe, responsible and compliant AI.

• Doctrine Skincare - Doctrine Skincare is a science-led Irish brand that transforms daily skincare into a luxurious ritual. Created by cosmetic chemist Tracey Ryan, Doctrine blends clinically proven actives with indulgent textures, colours and scents for results-driven, sensory skincare that feels like self-care.

• Ftbly - Ftbly is the digital home for football, helping every player grow and thrive while enabling clubs to support them better. Using AI, it delivers personalised training, wellbeing, and development tools for players, and smart management tools for clubs and organisations.

• GeoXen - Spatial omics tech is rapidly emerging, and labs are stuck with complex data that requires a specialist to handle. GeoXen is building a web SaaS platform for medical researchers, offering a single workspace for all omic analyses with custom-built tools that can instantly create publishable results.

• Key2Biotics - Key2Biotics is an expert in probiotic and gut health supplements. The company translates microbiome research into market-ready products through consultancy and in-house product development stability testing. It partners with innovative companies globally to accelerate evidence-based innovation in gut health.

• LegalMoov - LegalMoov helps individuals and small businesses who have a legal issue to understand their rights through an affordable digital platform delivering accessible and accurate legal information.

• Locket - Locket provides retention infrastructure for modern commerce. Its AI understands customer life context via the brand community, then generates individual retention plans in 30 seconds: personalised storefronts, continuous content. It predicts churn through human understanding, not pattern matching.

• Moon and Mellow - Moon and Mellow is an independent womenswear label creating unique sleepwear and resort wear designed to elevate your downtime. Whether it is winding down in the evening, easing into a slow weekend or unwinding on vacation each piece is made to capture a feeling of calm. A moment of luxury every time you wear it.

• My Moves Matter - My Moves Matter is developing the first AI-powered nutrition platform for neurological care, starting with Parkinson’s Disease. It offers easy access to evidence-based, regulated, personalised nutrition therapy to improve health outcomes and reduce healthcare costs.

• NoQ5.ai - NoQ5.ai is a voice powered AI agent for Salesforce and HubSpot. It turns calls, meetings, email and chat, plus the in-between detail reps add by voice, into CRM updates and next steps approved with a tap. Minimal set-up, no new dashboards; it adapts to each company’s playbook for reliable forecasts.

• PitSeal - PitSeal is revolutionising silage storage with a spray-on biofilm that replaces plastic sheeting. This sustainable solution reduces waste, improves safety, and saves farmers time and labour. PitSeal provides a sustainable solution while improving farm efficiency and safety.

• SonnyLabs.ai - SonnyLabs.ai provides AI security and compliance solutions aligned with the EU AI Act and ISO 42001. It ensures that AI agents, chatbots, and MCP servers don’t get hacked and remain compliant with regulations. 

• Starilum - Starilum transforms music catalogues into data-driven, fan-powered experiences. The company helps labels and artists identify what to release, where to release it, and generates AI-powered visuals, AR, and games that reignite connection, boost engagement, and unlock new revenue.

• The MenoPal - The MenoPal is a central intelligence layer for menopause health. Its platform transforms fragmented symptom and clinical data into structured intelligence to support women, clinicians, and researchers worldwide.

• Timbi - Timbi is building Europe’s first Regulatory AI, turning complex EU funding rules into clear guidance, checking eligibility, evaluating proposals, and generating compliant budgets for science-led businesses.

• verða - verða is the only Performance Operations platform that optimises when work happens based on human chronobiology. By precisely aligning tasks with individual biological rhythms, we deliver measurably better decisions, reduced team coordination overhead, and teams that perform better and stay longer. 

• Wild & Co. - Wild & Co. is redefining protein snacks with 100% wild Irish venison—clean, savoury, and sustainable. Born in Donegal, the company’s mission is simple: fuel modern lives with real food while helping restore balance in Ireland’s ecosystems. High in protein, no junk, made from the wild.