Abundance Enterprises Launched

On the nearest business day to World Down Syndrome Day this year on 20th March 2026, Fionnathan Productions is Launching Abundance Enterprises. “March 20th is also World Happiness Day,” says Fionn.

Last year, Fionn Crombie Angus gave the keynote address at the United Nations in New York City, calling for the governments of the world to give people with disabilities greater control of their own lives. This year he decided to stay home and show the fruits of what he and his community have achieved. And the Tánaiste will be there to celebrate with them. 

Just a few days shy of his 30th birthday, Fionn knows a lot about advocacy. As co-chair of the UK’s National Down Syndrome Policy Group’s Advisory Council, he was instrumental in the passage of the 2022 Down Syndrome Act, the world’s most extensive Down syndrome-specific legislation, visiting the Houses of Parliament and 10 Downing Street in Westminster nearly two dozen times, shaking hands with 107 MPs. He was a spokesperson for the inauguration of Ireland’s Decision Support Service, considered by many across Europe to be a model system ensuring choice and control. He advises the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission on how to make sure Ireland is fulfilling its obligations as signatories of the UNCRPD. In 2024 he became a Harvard Law School Fellow, researching how to make Human Rights processes more inclusive of people with intellectual disabilities.

Lots of people with Down syndrome are trying to find a job. That’s because the employment rate is so low. Fionnathan Productions believe that entrepreneurship is a better way to share with your community what you have to offer.

FInacial success is just one aspect of Abundance Enterprises. Fionn was the first person in Ireland with intellectual disability to manage his own disability supports when he completed secondary school. Instead of signing up to receive Day Services from one of the established Service Provider organisations, Fionn created his own. His father left his job as a primary school teacher (which he did for ten years in the United States before relocating, and fifteen years here in Ireland) because he saw the establishment of this son-and-father company as a vehicle to help his son achieve his ambitious goals in life.

The two have traveled on learning exchanges around the world, visiting places from the Amazon Rain Forest to the island of Zanzibar. “From A to Z, I love visiting places to learn about the ways people are creating a great life for themselves,” says Fionn, “especially through the arts.” 

That’s not surprising, as Fionn, a visual artist whose works have appeared in nine exhibitions in three countries, is also an accomplished traditional fiddle player. The Ambassador for TradFest, he has performed on the stages and streets, pubs and houseparties of Sydney, Oslo, Lisbon, Paris, Seattle, New York, Chicago, Toronto, Beijing, Austin, Helsinki, Brussels, Copenhagen, Boston, Amsterdam, Calgary, Vancouver, Montreal, Abu Dhabi, Addis Ababa, Vienna, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, Jacksonville, New Orleans, Kuala Lumpur, Brisbane, Los Angeles, Manaus, Detroit, Portland, Sanibel Island, San Francisco, Dar Es Salaam, and Honolulu. In 2025 he and his dad were named Irish Men of the Year, for Inclusion Advocacy through Arts and Culture.

Everywhere they go, Fionn asks people what they love about their lives. His YouTube channel, The Happiness Project shares many of his nearly 800 interviews. As those include Cillian Murphy, Angela Lansbury, Coolio, Jake Gyllenhaal, Temple Grandin, Domhnall Gleeson, Marissa Tormei, and Rosie O’Donnell, the channel’s 5 million views is less surprising. 

With a substantial award from the Department of Children Disability and Equality, through Rethink Ireland, Fionnathan have delivered two dynamic online courses from September 2025 until now. In addition to self-paced online learning of Advocacy Skills, the group had live online gatherings exploring the nature of Citizenship. “That’s how we were able to include potential entrepreneurs from across Europe, and as far away as Canada,” said Markus Vähälä, the group’s international co-ordinator who is based in Helsinki Finland, but will be making his way to Galway for the event, as will participants from France and the United States. “There’s a lot of interest in our innovative approach. People are hungry for solutions like this one,”says Jonathan Angus, Fionn’s father and co-director of their social enterprise, Fionnathan Productions,

In Ireland alone they had over 40 people with Down syndrome and other intellectual disabilities and their chosen supporters, who also met face-to-face, coming together for an Arts and Crafts Retreat where each participant led the entire group in a craft project they had prepared. “Ledaership experience is important.” Fionn says.

Then they set out their stall at the Eyre Square Christmas Market, to offer the handicrafts and promote the Abundance concept. This retail apprenticeship was a real learning experience for the participants. “Most every adult with Down syndrome has experienced retail from the buyer's perspective, Few have been on the other side of the counter,” Fionn observes.

In the new year, the group got down to business, through Creative Approaches to Supported Entrepreneurship, their co-designed start-up training. 

Looking forward, Abundance Enterprises will offer ongoing supports of the types requested most by the entrepreneurs, delivered in ways that best meet their needs, by business experts and by their own peers. The goals are not just about making profit. We want each of these micro-businesses to help the community, in some way. And we identified individual goals that could be met through having more resources at our disposal.

“When the Galway Chamber of Commerce offered to host our event, and invite their members, we realised there could be no better place in Galway to launch this initiative,” says Fionn.

People with disabilities are disproportionately inactive across the EU labour market, and Ireland has one of the lowest employment rates for this group. Self-employment can facilitate active economic and social participation and give control to the individual over their levels of participation, allowing flexibility in workload, work hours and work location, providing more elasticity in coping with disability than can be often found in paid employment

There are several ways in which policymakers can help to support entrepreneurs with diverse impairment characteristics, and that’s why they are thrilled to have both the Tánaiste Simon Harris and the Minister for Transportation Sean Canney offer to come for the launch of Abundance Enterprises, which will offer its version of Supported Entrepreneurship, co-designed with the participants with intellectual disabilities and their committed supporters. 

We call for a national scheme for start-up grants and loans for disabled entrepreneurs should be overseen by experienced business advisers with paid consultation for entrepreneurs with disabilities.

They argue for the development of processes that raise the ambitions of potential entrepreneurs with disabilities, and then provide financial and logistical assistance for the business, before and after start-up. The programme must also be open to everyone, regardless of the type and severity of their disability.

“With respect, we feel that many Day Services no longer meet the needs of people with intellectual disabilities, who want lives as fulfilling as their brothers’ and sisters’ lives. When risk reduction and ‘keeping them occupied’ is the starting point, they’re never going to be able to support the outside-the-box innovations that self-directed striving would require,” says Jonathan. “It’s not ten-to-three-o’clock, Monday-through-Friday. It’s not in one location. It’s flexible, online globally and out in the community locally. It’s where the action is, and it;s creating the action yourselves. We’d like to help service providers think more ambitiously and innovatively.”

The challenge of the ‘welfare benefits trap’ and the need for appropriate business mentoring are issues that surface frequently. These considerations also highlight the need for a multi-stakeholder approach if a holistic strategy is to be developed and implemented.

In the near future, Fionn and Jonathan expect to build a cadre of trainers with lived experience who offer disability awareness training to businesses, not just to help employers see the value of people with disability as employees, but as suppliers, consultants, and inclusive business support advisors.

To achieve all this, Fionnathan Productions are seeking long-term support from government and corporate partners, so they can continue to help people with disabilities establish their own businesses, ensuring that self-employment is offered as a positive choice rather than a last resort. 

The event, starting at 2:00pm, will have dignitaries' speeches, a presentation on the Abundance project, reflections from the Creative Approaches to Supported Entrepreneurship (CASE) graduates, and a ceremonial tree planting by the Tánaiste. “We figure planting an oak tree sapling from a small pot into a bigger one is symbolic of our circumstance because, though we don't have a permanent home yet, we’re growing and establishing roots regardless.”

The highlight of the event will be the Pitching Sessions. Eight projects will be shared, micro-business pilot plans with prototypes and business model proposals. Each team of entrepreneurs has at least one member with Down syndrome. Invited guests will be given opportunities to share specific and general advice on each business plan, from their perspectives. As one of the microbusiness plans is for a new cafe, hot drinks and refreshments will be available. Guests will leave the event with a collection of single-edition promotion items to help recall the various projects.

This is a unique and important event, launching a homegrown innovation that may, indeed, make the world a better place. You are welcome to attend. 

Please contact fionnathan.productions@gmail.com to register your interest.