Micro-loans program expanding.

Character, capacity and commitment are three key ingredients required to receive business training and a small loan to start a micro-business through the Greater Sudbury Stepping Stones program. Under the umbrella organization called Grassroots Economic Opportunity Development & Evaluation (GEODE), the not-for-profit micro-enterprise business program has been running since 2000.

Co-ordinator Martha Cunningham-Closs says the formation of GEODE resulted as a solution to assist people who suffered financial hard-ship from an Inco strike about 10 years ago. When the Stepping Stones program came about, GEODE seemed a logical choice of organizations to which the peer-lending program could adhere. It is the first of its kind in Sudbury.

It originated in Bangledash when economist Dr. Muhammad Yunus, established the Grameen Bank in 1974. It focused on collective or peer borrowing to alleviate poverty and create social change. Since that time, micro-loans have created billions of dollars of economic wealth in Asia, Africa and South Africa, according to the GEODE website.

The concept was introduced to North America in 1988 and has grown to 35 micro- and peer-loan funds across Canada, with assets from $10 to $15 million.

Comprised of small circles of four to seven people, Cunningham-Closs describes it as an "organic type of process."

For people who may not be able to access traditional business-skills training or loans via the formal financial system, Stepping Stones provides that alternative solution.

Currently, there are 12 circles made up of people from all walks of life. It is this diversity that contributes a wide range of expertise, an integral part of the circle building. Many enter the program seeking business training or loans to either start or expand a business, or both. Cunningham-Closs says eligibility is based upon a business that has fewer than five employees. The contracted-out training is conducted by a business expert and a circle-building counsellor. The focus is upon making a commitment to the group and developing group dynamics, because at the end of the 12 sessions, it is the people in the circle who approve the loan for their peers, not the bank.

Supported by FedNor, the program has a special agreement with a Credit Union so the loans are guaranteed. The loans consist of three stages: the first loan is $1,000, the second loan is $2,000 and the third loan is $3,000. The loan terms are determined by the circle, but usually they are paid back within 12 to 18 months. The loan must be repaid before they can apply for the next one.

Bob Levesque, who works as a computer consultant, began his own service and sales computer business called Fix and Tweak Computer Services through the Stepping Stones program. Levesque has been in business with a partner for approximately three years. His business developed out of a need to fix computers.

"The stats say that by 2010 there will be more than a billion computers in service somewhere around the world," he says. "If one-tenth of one percent break down, I'll never be out of work."

As a representative on the board of directors, Levesque says Stepping Stones concentrates on small community circles and business as being part of the community.

He adds that the majority of businesses are made up of companies employing under 20 people. That category represents about half of all businesses on the continent.

The program is not looking to establish big businesses, instead, it is "looking to give that small person a hand up," he says. "If we can teach you how to run a small business and how to interact within the community, then you can take that business and sustain it and move on to other levels."

Recently, Stepping Stones received $101,496 in FedNor support. Staff plan to target the outlying and underdeveloped areas of Greater Sudbury, as well as work with Aboriginal and Francophone community leaders.

www.geodesudbury.org/english/home-e.html

By ADELLE LARMOUR

Northern Ontario Business