Meath entrepreneur and ACORNS alumna Emer Mugisha is on a mission to make cybersecurity education more accessible.
The idea for Cyberminds grew from Emer and her husband Josh’s belief that cybersecurity education was too theory-heavy, inaccessible and hard to engage with.
They took their learnings from previous work and began to implement bite-sized learning, gamification and a mobile-first approach, developing an application designed to make cybersecurity and AI skills accessible globally.
“Being on the ACORNS programme was pivotal, with a strong support network of women entrepreneurs who understand the realities of building a business in Ireland”
Mugisha is a graduate of the ACORNS rural women entrepreneurship programme. Funded by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, ACORNS supports women entrepreneurs living in rural Ireland through peer learning, mentoring and round table sessions led by experienced business owners.
Explainer: What is Cyberminds?
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Who is the founder of Cyberminds? | Emer Mugisha, a Navan-born entrepreneur and ACORNS alumna, founded Cyberminds. |
| What is Cyberminds? | Cyberminds is an AI and cybersecurity learning platform that uses bite-sized, gamified and mobile-first learning. |
| What problem does Cyberminds solve? | It makes cybersecurity and AI education more accessible, engaging and practical for learners worldwide. |
| When was Cyberminds launched? | Cyberminds launched in 2025. |
| How many users does Cyberminds have? | The platform has grown organically to almost 20,000 learners. |
| Where are Cyberminds users located? | Users come from countries including Ireland, India, Kenya, Nigeria and the United States. |
| What is Cyberminds’ current focus? | The company focuses on AI upskilling for professionals while remaining rooted in cybersecurity and security by design. |
| What is the ACORNS programme? | ACORNS is a rural women entrepreneurship programme funded by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine that provides mentoring, peer learning and business support. |
| How did ACORNS help Emer Mugisha? | She described the programme as pivotal, providing a strong support network of women entrepreneurs. |
| What was Emer Mugisha’s career before founding Cyberminds? | She worked in social care, technology, logistics and coffee production, including senior operations roles in East Africa. |
| How long did she live in Uganda? | She lived and worked in Uganda for 16 years before returning to Ireland. |
| When did Emer Mugisha return to Ireland? | She returned to Navan with her family in 2023. |
| What are Cyberminds’ future plans? | The company plans to expand further into SME and enterprise markets while continuing to support individual learners. |
| What new features are planned for Cyberminds? | Future developments include multilingual support and practical AI labs for learners worldwide. |
| Why is Emer Mugisha’s story notable? | She transitioned from social care and international operations roles to building a global AI and cybersecurity education platform from Ireland. |
Simplifying cybersecurity education
Navan-born entrepreneur Emer Mugisha attended school locally before enrolling in third level education in Athlone, completing an Honours Degree in Social Care Practice. This led to her wanting to explore the social care field and in 2006, Emer moved to Uganda in Eastern Africa, initially on a gap year, where she worked with underserved communities and as a teacher for kids with special needs. Through her work and involvement in the local community, she fell in love with the country nicknamed ‘The Pearl of Africa’, staying there for the following 16 years.
Throughout this period, Emer worked in senior operations roles across Technology, Logistics and Coffee production – working with a global coffee supplier. She then moved into a logistics position with a heavy goods logistics company transporting for organisations including the World Food Programme and Diageo across East Africa.
As her kids approached primary school age, Emer and her family moved home to Navan in 2023.
Since its launch in 2025, Cyberminds has grown organically to almost 20,000 learners with users from countries such as Ireland, India, Kenya, Nigeria, USA and more. The company now focuses on AI upskilling for professionals, while continuing to be rooted in cybersecurity and security by design.
“Being on the ACORNS programme was pivotal, with a strong support network of women entrepreneurs who understand the realities of building a business in Ireland.
“Moving forward, Cyberminds plans to continue to work with individual learners while targeting SME and enterprise clients.
“We will also focus on adding multilingual support and practical AI labs for learners around the world, helping users become more and more AI-ready.”
Do you have what it takes to join ACORNS?
Applications have opened for ACORNS 12, the next phase of the programme for early-stage female business founders.
Funded by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, ACORNS supports women entrepreneurs living in rural Ireland through peer learning, mentoring and round table sessions led by experienced business owners.
The latest programme results show that the combined annual turnover of the 53 participants on ACORNS 11 increased from €4.1 million to almost €6 million during the six-month programme. Nine entrepreneurs began trading for the first time during their participation, while four businesses became exporters.
ACORNS 12 will run from October 2026 to April 2027 and is open to early-stage female entrepreneurs living in rural Ireland who have generated sales no earlier than the end of June 2023. Up to 50 places are available. Participation is free of charge, supported by funding from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine and the voluntary contribution of Lead Entrepreneurs from across rural Ireland.
This year’s Lead Entrepreneurs include Alison Ritchie of Polar Ice, Geraldine Jones of Skin Formulas, Karen Kerrigan of Kerrigan’s Mushrooms, Larissa Feeney of Kinore, Mary B Walsh of Ire Wel Pallets, Orla Leahy of Ireland Chauffeur Travel and Triona MacGiolla Rí of Aró Digital Strategies.
Applications for ACORNS 12 will remain open until midnight on September 18. To apply, click here
Eligibility Criteria for participation on ACORNS
To be considered for ACORNS, applicants must:
- Have set up a new business which has generated sales no earlier than the end of June 2023 or be actively planning a new venture and have made good progress towards getting the new venture off the ground. Indicators of actively planning a business would include organising the start-up team, sourcing equipment / facilities, money saved for the start-up, writing the business plan, etc.
- They must own or part-own the business and be living in a rural area, that is in an area outside the administrative city boundaries of Dublin, Cork, Galway, Limerick and Waterford.
- If selected, applicants must be available to attend the launch Forum and first round table session on October 19 and 20, 2026.
- They must expect to become an employer within three years.
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