• Home
• Business Point
• Business Tools and Templates
• Expanding your Business
  • Identifying and Developing New Markets
    • Developing new markets
    • E-Business
    • Are you ready to enter new markets?
  • Building your Workforce
    • Workforce development
  • Improving your Efficiency and Productivity
    • Managing Technology
    • Management and Processing Systems
    • Supply Chain Issues
  • Innovation
  • Managing your Growing Business
    • Building Management Skills
    • Access to Finance
    • Infrastructure and Land Use Planning
  • Other useful links
• Exporting and your Business
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Innovation and your Business
• Programs and services
• Starting Your Business
  • Planning Your Business
    • Are you ready to start your own business?
    • What do you need to do first?
    • Do you know your market?
    • How do you create a business plan?
  • Setting up your Business
    • What type of business structure will you use?
    • Where will you locate your business?
    • Should you buy or lease?
  • Your Business and the Law
    • What legislation applies to your business?
    • What is BLIS?
    • What are my tax obligations?
  • Financing your Business
    • How do I manage finances?
    • Finding sources of finance
    • Record keeping
    • How do I manage cash flow?
  • Safeguarding your Business
    • How much insurance do I need?
    • Should I register my Intellectual Property?
    • Should I get a Mentor?
    • What other safeguards should I have?
  • Running your Business
    • Marketing and Customer Service
    • Staff
  • Migrating your Business to Tasmania
  • Other useful links
• Workforce Development
  • Employer of Choice
  • Business Point
  • Publications
  • Useful Links
  • Contacts
  • Workforce Participation Program
    • Workforce Participation Program Grants
  • Research
• Your Business and the Future
  • Succession Planning
  • Risk Management
  • Exit Strategies
  • Selling Up
  • Other useful links

Micro-credit program

Starting and running a business can be a very rewarding experience. The Micro-Credit Program helps people who want to start or grow their business.

The program assists people on low incomes (Health care card holders) by providing business mentoring support and small interest-free loans. A maximum loan of $3000 may be available to assist with business start-up or expansion.

The Micro-Credit Program is a joint program run by the Department of Economic Development, Tourism and the Arts, the Department of Premier and Cabinet’s Women Tasmania, Mission Australia the No Interest Loan Scheme (NILS) network of Australia.

What assistance is available?

The program is designed to:

• enable people to develop a business concept into a practical business proposal
• provide workshops that enable people to access their business aptitude
• provide information on basic legal and other requirements for establishing a business
• increase business planning and management skills and
• help people  grow their business
• provide tailored business mentoring assistance.
• provide a start-up or business expansion financial assistance package to successful applicants

Please note: Business Planning and mentoring are provided free of charge. Micro-credit loans are available on a regional basis and the amount of funding available each year is limited.

Who can apply?

Anyone who has a Health Care Card and has completed a business plan approved by an authorised Enterprise Centre can apply for assistance. To start the process contact Business Point on 1800 440 026 or email  businesspoint@development.tas.gov.au.

Click here to view the flyer