Northern Migrant Resource Centre

With 2005 being the UN International Year of Microcredit, the Migrant Resource Centre (MRC), together with Women's Health in the North (WHIN) were successful in gaining a Community Support Fund Grant of $236,126, to conduct the Enterprising Women project, which aims to assist CALD women set up their small businesses.

This innovative education project will assist over 300 women take part in the program over a three-year period and help them seek employment or start their own businesses by providing financial literacy sessions to women from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds across the region. It will also provide support and training in setting up small (micro) business, with no interest loans available to women completing this training. Priority will be given to women otherwise excluded from economic and financial participation for a range of reasons. These include socio-economic status, employment status, ethnic or cultural background, English language barriers, or a combination of all these factors.

Participants would also form small group credit circles, through which they will be able to access small, interest-free loans to assist in the establishment of micro-enterprises. MRC's role in the project would be to provide No Interest Loans to women who have approved Business Plans.

The Project springs from the Enterprising Women, Whittlesea and several of the participants in the trial have already started their own micro-enterprises. Two of the women - Hagir El Tayab and Jasbir Takah - spoke at the launch and are featured in the photos below.

Future Information Sessions on Financial Literacy and the project will be advertised here. For more information, contact Enterprising Women Project Worker, Kath Deakin on 9484 1666 or email kathd@whin.org.au