Who is eligible for a business loan funded by donations to Action10?

Scale-up loans are given to social entrepreneurs with a proven record in Sub-Saharan African countries where our umbrella organization, Human Rights & Science has its HR&S Support Centres. Loan-takers become members of these Support Centres, called RISE (Research, Innovation, and Social Enterprising) Centres, and remain members until the business is financially and operationally sustainable.

– HR&S offers 10h webinars on social enterprising, sustainability, and accountability. The participants receive a Certificate if they pass the exam after the webinar.
– Social entrepreneurs with certificates from HR&S webinars are welcome to present their social business ideas to HR&S. Ambitions, outcome challenges, and how outcome challenges are addressed is discussed firmly with HR&S. If the business idea is sound, the entrepreneur is driven by intrinsic motivation, is an agency for change, and value accountability truth and trust, and if HR&S is able to address and solve the outcome challenges then the social entrepreneur and HR&S may agree to become partners.
– Agreed social entrepreneurs are offered a loan with 10% annual interest and to become a member of the Support Centre, EUR 50 per year. Members benefit from local training, international coaching, expert advice, networking, and annual auditing.
– The income generated locally co-funds the running of the Support Centre.
– The first loan is small, around € 1,000 and when it is paid back with interest, the loan-taker is eligible for a second loan, maybe twice as large. This procedure is repeated until the business is profitable and self-sustained. Thus the relation is built slowly but firmly while trust and equal partnership are developed, and the challenges facing the social entrepreneur are addressed together.
-The paid back capital is accounted for at the HR&S branch local bank account and is re-invested in order to scale up the ongoing partner business or to start or scale up a new business. The capital is raised through donations due to the inherent financial risk.