Secret Projects Social Investor Core Loan - a loan that empowers women in India and supports leadership.

 27th Jul 2020 |  Invest |  Margaret Ring


In March this year we had to completely halt sales of our Secret Products as the effects of Covid-19 took hold and countries around the world went into lockdown, something we were so sad about, but our main concern was for the safety our Makers and Team, so it was absolutely the right course of action.

As lockdown begins to tentatively ease, we are now in the process of throwing ourselves into planning for our autumn/winter sales and, of course, as an international retailer for Christmas, Diwali and Thanksgiving. It's exciting to be making these plans - our creative juices are flowing and we can't wait to begin selling our wonderful products, made so lovingly by our Makers and telling the story of Secret Projects once again. We became aware that we needed to find a solution to help us bridge the gap that has happened as a result of not being able to sell our merchandise for the last few months and, we have decided to open up our Social Investor Core Loan. 

Secret Projects Social Investor Core is a group of passionate and committed social investors that Secret Projects has borrowed funds from, offering a competitive interest rate on these loans in return. Over the last four years, we have been able to borrow £37,000 from this core group and have repaid £21,000 of the money borrowed at maturity date with interest. We would now like to open this up to other social investors who share our vision of a world where all women have the confidence and resources to make choices, thrive and contribute to the strengthening of their communities.

The loan terms are:
  • Loan Period - 3 years
  • Interest rate - 3% interest per annum.
  • Minimum loan - £500

Interest will be paid yearly, but an investor can choose to have their interest rolled over to the following year.

These loans have made a huge difference to the impact we have been able to make in India. Using the precious money wisely we have been able to create more Maker Groups to give women an opportunity to not only earn a good and fair income, but to also have an opportunity to develop their leadership and entrepreneurial skills through our 4 stage Training for Empowerment Programme.

If you would like to help bridge the gap and loan us money, or want to discuss our Social Investor Core Loan in more detail please email invest@secretprojects.org

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SP Accountant's Trip - one year on!

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We would begin trading internationally as a multinational company, which has its own compliances and financial regulations plus accountancy standards for each country Secret Projects was to trade in.   As a highly experience professional, Banke knew what her accountancy strengths were and had spent several hours in discussions with Secret Projects UK Accountant Fiona Bird of Heather & Co, bouncing ideas around. However, the more she and Fiona investigated the India side of the business, Banke realized that she had a gap in her knowledge. To plug this gap, she put feelers out into her professional network, and this is how we were able to connect with Sneha Shah, an Indian accountant, who has since become SPI’s accountant based in India.   The 3 accountants decided that it was crucial for them meet face to face, spend time together, focusing on what needed to be done, dividing tasks between them in line with their own areas of expertise and they also felt they wanted to get to know each other better. So, in November 2019, Banke and Fiona boarded a flight to Bengaluru and the first Secret Projects Accountant’s Trip began!   The trip...  The 3 women stayed in a flat together in the city for a week, speaking the same accountancy language, and because of spending this focused, quality time together, realized how beneficial it was for Secret Projects to have their joint experience and skills in compatible areas. It is fair to say that during this time, they bonded!   It was also decided that whilst in India, Banke and Fiona would begin the process of sourcing a suitable bank for SPI, and Sneha volunteered to help with the search, and was an invaluable asset, as she has so much experience of the Indian banking system. They spent time thinking about what SPI needed from a bank, what banks in India required from businesses and arranged meetings with several institutions. Although it’s not an easy task to set up bank accounts in India, it helped enormously for Secret Projects Accountants and Director to meet Banking Account Managers in person and as a result, they found a bank that is an excellent fit. 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Banke now knows that if she has any issues that need sorting out, or needs to get a task completed in India, she can rely on Sneha completely and indeed all of them feel the same way and the great, professional relationship that sprang up from this trip is growing ever stronger.   It wasn’t all work...  Banke, Fiona and Sneha worked all morning and then in the afternoon would venture out into Bengaluru, visiting the palace and various markets for shopping trips and had lots of fun in the process! They returned to the flat for a few more hours work, before spending the evening having dinner and getting to know each other away from work. On their last evening together, they visited a well-known restaurant recommended by Fritha and had a ball, even though no-one was feeling particularly well that night.   The flat, where they stayed is situated beneath the apartment of SPI Director Nirmala, who really took care of them all, inviting them to her house for breakfast and was on hand throughout the trip and really made everyone feel at home.  They were wonderfully comfortable, making their business trip so much pleasanter than staying in a hotel.   The following week after Fiona had left to return to the UK, Banke, who was to remain in India for a further couple of weeks, travelled to Mumbai with Sneha and stayed for a few days with her and her partner. Banke had the most wonderful time, as they took her sight-seeing, for a manicure and a pedicure and even had dinner in a restaurant that is a favourite haunt of Bollywood stars. Spending time with Sneha and her family like this was a great ending to this part of her time in India.   Since then, of course, the world has changed as COVID-19 took a grip with most countries going into lockdowns. Secret Projects financial team now meet virtually, which will continue for the foreseeable future. However, this is made easier by their strong working and personal relationship that was forged during their week together in Bengaluru.     Photo: Left to right, Sneha, Fiona, Banke and Nirmala
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Our values. We support each other...

Our values. We support each other...

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We are proud to be WFTO's member of the month!

We are proud to be WFTO's member of the month!

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