Already 40 new jobs thanks to microcredit.
The microcredit specialist continues to grow in Flanders with the official opening of its Antwerp branch on Dambruggestraat on Tuesday 18 November in the presence of aldermen of the city of Antwerp and various stakeholders of the microStart initiative.
Even before the new branch was officially opened, microStart already succeeded in creating 40 new jobs in the large port city.
Since microStart launched nearly four years ago, it has helped many people who are unable to go through the traditional banking system to set up their own business by granting them a micro-loan plus free advice and support. During these four years microStart has helped to create no fewer than 600 jobs.
A recent study by the Vlerick Business School, commissioned by BNP Paribas Fortis, the main partner in microStart, demonstrates the positive impact which the microStart initiative has had on job creation, thus helping to combat poverty and social marginalisation in Belgium.
After originally setting up agencies in the Brussels area, microStart has pursued expansion throughout Belgium in order to help address these serious socio-economic issues across the country. After setting up shop in Ghent last year, microStart now officially inaugurated its second agency in Flanders, located in the city of Antwerp. In Wallonia, microStart carries out its activities from bases in Liège and Charleroi.
Microcredit helps combat poverty – Francine Carron, microStart manager in Antwerp, points out that the microcredit provider proved an immediate success in the City on the Schelde. “We were already meeting with customers at temporary premises from March onwards,” she explains, adding: “We saw at once that there was a strong demand for micro-loans here. Clearly there are a lot of people in Antwerp who are keen to set up in business but lack the resources and would-be entrepreneurs are also faced with rents and other charges that are higher here than elsewhere in Flanders.”
At the present time, the Antwerp team consists of two full-time staff, with a third scheduled to join soon. The branch can also call on the services of a number of volunteers, bank staff who provide free assistance to the micro-borrowers on the management, marketing and financial side of the business project.
“Our initial target was to grant 40 micro-loans for an average amount of €5,000 by the end of 2014. However, we’ve already made around 60 loans averaging €9,000 each. These loans have helped to create or place on a stronger footing some 40 new jobs in Antwerp. So now we’re hoping to pass the milestone of 80 micro-loans by year-end,” reveals Francine Carron.
A ‘typical’ Antwerp clientele – What makes Antwerp stand out from the other cities where microStart is operating is the diverse backgrounds of the customers themselves and also the wide range of businesses which they want to set up. “So far, we’ve had meetings with 150 people of 19 different nationalities – people from Africa, Asia, Latin America and other places, with widely differing business plans. Some of them were looking to open a clothing store or grocery shop, but others came to us with more novel projects such as fashion retailing or running a local radio station. ”
The agency is located at 26, Dambruggestraat, in the Seefhoek district of town, which is a model of social diversity. It is situated not very far from Antwerp Central rail station and is also on the metro, which makes the area even more easily accessible.
The official inauguration of the agency took place on Tuesday 18 November with Antwerp city aldermen Philip Heylen and Koen Kennis in attendance, alongside Max Jadot, CEO of BNP Paribas Fortis and Luc Haegemans, Secretary-General, and a number of Antwerp-based micro-entrepreneurs.
Press contacts
Hilde Junius – 02 565 47 37 – hilde.junius@bnpparibasfortis.com
Valéry Halloy – 02 565 46 50 – valery.halloy@bnpparibasfortis.com
Kim Cauberghs – 02 228 37 94 – kim.cauberghs@bnpparibasfortis.com