Global Support Foundation

Baffles was established in December 2008. Its aim was to search and provide a complete entertainment and event management package, a solution to the ethnic community entertainment in Ireland. It is a social enterprise primarily targeted at African community but also aims to draw interest from across other ethnic and Irish communities. Today, Baffles entertainment has become a leading immigrant co-operative enterprise in Dublin. The venture is made up of media/entertainment professionals whose goal is built upon the company’s original aim, i.e. to provide solutions to problems relating to immigrant/ethnic entertainment. Each individual professional making up Baffles agreed to pool their expertise together for the benefit of providing effective and productive expert services to its customers.

His and Hers Recreational Centre is a co-operatively owned centre situated at 44A, Ballybane Industrial estates, Galway in Ireland. The venture was established in 2009, but formerly launched on the 1st of May 2010, as a recreational centre for the people of Galway and its environs. His and Hers Recreational Centre has eight members who with various competencies in event organization and management, music and dance. The Centre specializes in organising dance classes for students, teaching people how to use musical instruments, renting the space out for functions and providing leisure and a relaxing environment to people within the community

Little Angels is a co-operative venture based in Dundalk. It was established in 2009 as a crèche and day-care facility for children aged 6 months to 14 years. It is an initiative of the over 72 members of Nwannedinamba, the Dundalk chapter of the Igbo Union Ireland. This ethnic association of immigrants from Eastern Nigeria that seeks to promote the socio-cultural integration of the Igbo people in Dundalk and also cater for their need of affordable childcare in the area. As in the rest of the country, childcare costs are a major issue for immigrants in this area and can act as a barrier to entry to the workforce and full participation in the economic life of the country

This is another co-operative society assisted to commence trading, established in 2009. Based in Cork and comprised of five African women who possessed several years of experience in hair and beauty back home before their migration into Ireland. This group were previously conducting their business on individual capacity and this was fraught with difficulties associated with one-man business, hence when they heard about the CSS they approached them with a request to assist them in setting up a co-operative venture. The CSS took them through the entire process, ranging from initial formal training to the registration of the group at the Registrar of Friendly Societies, and this ultimately gave birth to MEH Hair and Beauty Co-operative Society.

This co-operative group was established in 2008 and is comprises six immigrants from Africa. The venture engages in promoting and supplying Afro-European outfit. It is a fashion design business that mixes African and European fabrics to create beautiful clothing. In the summer of last year, the venture organized a fashion fair in which they exhibited a rich variety of clothes, dresses, skirts, trousers, tops, sports wears and other outfits with a special touch of African and European motifs. Many of the designs use a combination of beautiful African hand woven fabrics from Ghana such as Kente, and Adire and Akwete from the Yoruba and Igbo of Nigeria, respectively.