Offaly business completes Bord na Móna Accelerate Green START programme
Feighery’s Farm, a rising green start-up based in Kilcormac, has successfully completed Bord na Móna’s Accelerate Green START programme. The programme, delivered in conjunction with Resolve Partners, is dedicated to supporting companies who are leading the response to climate action and sustainability.
Feighery’s Farm Beetroot Juice manufactures and produces organic beetroot juice. The business prides themselves on being 100% Irish using homegrown and pesticide-free produce.
The Offaly company was one of nine participants in a six-week programme covering key areas including customer discovery, market mapping, network development, the funding ecosystem, preparation for investment and pitching. The programme was delivered through a blend of online and in-person workshops as well as individual mentoring at Bord na Móna’s Accelerate Green Hub, in Boora, Co. Offaly.
The programme culminated in a pitch event at Bord na Móna’s headquarters where participants presented their business ideas to a panel of experts which included Tom Donnellan, CEO of Bord na Móna, Sonya Mallon, Bord na Móna’s Company Secretary and John Carrigan, Investment Director at The Yield Lab, an accelerator program that invests in and mentors early-stage companies in the agriculture sector.
The START programme was established as a sister programme to Bord na Móna’s annual Accelerate Green Programme in order to support earlier stage businesses to scale their sustainable solutions. It enables participants to meet customers, mentors and guest speakers who provide practical industry insights and help guide the business and investable proposition of their companies.
Anne Marie Feighery, owner of Feighery’s Farm Beetroot Juice said: “For me, the Accelerate Green START programme has been eye-opening and impressive, as there have been a few aspects that I have immediately benefitted from; collaborative learning, brainstorming opportunities with the other businesses and the mentoring sessions. The programme has really sharpened my focus, and the networking opportunities it has created will help to drive me and the business forward.”
Tom Donnellan, CEO of Bord na Móna, congratulating the programme’s latest successful cohort said: “The latest round of graduates of the Accelerate Green START programme are directly representative of the type of innovation in sustainability that this project was designed to support and enable. We were extremely impressed by the ambition of the ideas that were presented. I believe that the participants have benefited from the knowledge sharing and mentorship which the programme provides and they are well placed to continue to grow their ideas and businesses moving forward. Our hope is that graduates of the START programme will continue to grow their businesses and create sustainable jobs while enabling a low-carbon economy”