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