In paid partnership with Visa.

Following the launch of this year's Visa's She's Next Grant Programme, we caught up with one of last year's winners, Feed Me Mother's Fiona Fahey.

Ireland is proud to boast some incredible female entrepreneurs, but there's no denying that in business women, can often face huge obstacles. One company that is determined to dismantle these barriers and back women-led businesses is Visa. Through Visa's She's Next Grant Programme, female entrepreneurs can apply for a transformative grant of €10,000 as well as a year's worth of business coaching. Visa's She's Next Grant Programme is currently welcoming new applicants, and to see just how transformative it can be, we caught up with one of last year's winners, Fiona Fahey. The idea for Feed Me Mother first came to Fiona when she was on her own breastfeeding journey, and struggled to find clothes she felt herself in. "The breastfeeding was going well, but I hated the clothes I was wearing," Fiona tells Her. "I had become a mother but I didn’t look like myself and I didn’t feel like myself as a result. I wanted something fashionable, comfortable, but I just couldn’t find it." Fiona kickstarted her own business to not only help herself feel comfortable, but to be of service to breastfeeding mothers everywhere. "Feed Me Mother is an online breastfeeding clothing brand but beyond that we want to empower women to breastfeed confidently in public," Fiona explains. "I wanted to design clothing that would make the breastfeeding process easier and nicer. I wanted to simplify the process and create high quality sustainable t-shirts that flatter your postpartum body." After winning Visa's She's Next Grant Programme, Fiona has been able to make huge strides, and is now reaching more mothers than ever before. As well as boosting her reach, the prize – a €10,000 grant plus coaching from industry professionals – allowed Fiona to implement steps to take Feed Me Mother to the next level. "I feel I have the framework now," she says. "I know the steps to take to take it further, and that's what I'm implementing now. I'm working on a huge marketing campaign, I've updated my website and I've launched a new collection." In addition to this progress, winning Visa's She's Next Grant programme instilled a huge sense of confidence in Fiona as a business owner. "It wasn't just any grant programme, it was Visa," she says. "To get that recognition from Visa gave me a huge confidence boost personally. I knew I had a good idea, but now I feel like I have a business. I think sometimes for women in business, especially small online businesses, there might be an assumption that it's just a hobby. I always felt a bit injured from that type-casting. So since winning, I am a lot more confident and assertive. It's clarified it in my head. This is a business. I have sales every week and I should be very proud of that. Visa gave me the opportunity and the voice to say it with confidence." Throughout her business journey, one lesson Fiona's learned is the importance of research, and it's a message she wants to share with other aspiring business owners. "Do your market research," she urges. "There's no point in spending time developing something unless you know beforehand that there's a need or demand for the service or product. So do your homework, and from there it's quite easy. But there's no point in investing your time and energy into something unless you know people want it. Once you get that far, then just follow the money."

About Visa's She's Next Grant Programme

Visa is empowering women across the Republic of Ireland to grow their business by offering five €10,000 grants plus coaching through Visa She’s Next Grant Programme. T&Cs apply. Apply by 21st of July. Learn more right here.