Previous experience in providing loans to small business in the Lower Gulf and associated business support has shown:
– The level of literacy and numeracy skills make basic business administrative processes very challenging notwithstanding that they generally need to be outsourced
– Access to appropriate administrative support services and facilities is limited
– There is a low level of skills and understanding of basic business concepts
– Family financial pressures can cause crippling cash demands on a successful business
– A life of relying on welfare can, on occasions, cause an attitude of over dependence on support and abdication of responsibility for business failure
– There are limited commercial opportunities in the Lower Gulf Communities of sufficient scale to justify investment
– Seasonal factors can result in a business being unable to trade for extended periods during the wet or require substantial stock holdings to enable continuation of service delivery
– Freight and logistics costs are a significant impost
– There is a perception in the Communities that funding is a local right and the concept of repaying business loans is not taken seriously
– Business operators experience family and other pressures that can lead to cash exiting the business for private purposes leaving business expenses and obligations unpaid
– No matter how much support is provided there will still be business failures
– Community members are often to shamed to ask for support until it is too late
– Some business operators need a significant amount of assistance and support for extended periods of time often for several years
– The growing presence of and access to internet shopping
– Lack of access to skilled staff
