The seed scheme more info - THE Seed Scheme

"From Little Things Big Things Grow"

THE Seed Scheme is one of the most exciting micro-focused projects in rural Australia!

During the first 12 months, THE Seed Scheme expects to enable the development of 700 rurally based, women-led online micro-enterprises, nationwide, injecting $17.5 Million or more into the rural economy and returning enormous social value to the participating Founders, Sponsor Partners and their communities.

Perhaps you are a rural woman who has been lacking the support you need to start or scale that online business.

Maybe you are a rural business or organisation who wants to re-invest in the economic and social structure of your community.

There is a place for everyone in THE Seed Scheme; everyone who is passionate about effecting real, grassroots change in rural and regional Australia!

Submit an enquiry by selecting any of the buttons on this page and I look forward to partnering with you to achieve great things in small ways!

May you bloom where you are planted,

Rebel Black
CEO & Founder
THE Rural Woman

Become a Founder or a Partner

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THE SEED SCHEME GOALS

Our goal is that through training, mentoring and community support, every online micro-enterprise Founder achieves:

Clarity in her vision and ambition, in her product/service, in her financial goal and profitability, in her marketing and sales processes,
Confidence in herself, to take her product/service to market, in her ability to succeed
Connection to the tools and training she needs to achieve her goals, the technology required to take her product/service to market and manage it effectively, to other micro-enterprise Founders for mutual support, advice, collaboration and encouragement, connection to Sponsor Partners and their extended network

FINANCIAL SUCCESS

We expect, from the work we’ve been doing with women in business for the past 4 years and from ATO data, that the average first year annual turnover will be $35,000 with turnover ranging from $15,000 – $55,000.

Our goal will be for 60% of Founders to achieve average or above turnover goals with profitability as a core focus. With a scaffolded support and education approach, we expect that a percentage of our micro-enterprise Founders will go on to become small businesses and a further percentage will become medium businesses which will see the economic and social impact of this Scheme expand exponentially in years and decades to come.

SPONSOR PARTNERS

Our goal for Sponsor Partners is that they are connected to the direct economic and social revival of Rural Australia through the seed-funding they provide, and achieve a meaningful connection to a group of motivated and successful community of rural women and are able to capitalise on that for their unique needs and outcomes.

THE EXCITED ABOUT

Enables the development of 700 women-led online micro-enterprises in rural and regional communities in 12-18 months
Injects $17.5 million or more into the rural Australian economy in the first year
Provides 12 months FREE business and leadership training and weekly mentoring
Returns social and economic value to small towns, villages and regional centres nationally
Provides a regenerative online eco-system to ensure the success of the micro-enterprises
Establishes an online superstore-marketplace by rural women, for the world creating new market opportunities for micro-enterprise
Encourages and supports collaboration between all enterprises
Empowers micro-enterprise founders to #livelocalgrowglobal and share their extraordinary talents, intellect, skills, products and services to serve a much wider audience
Empowers micro-enterprise founders to #livelocalgrowglobal and share their extraordinary talents, intellect, skills, products and services to serve a much wider audience
Will support the emergence of powerful micro-enterprise clusters in local communities through strategic investment and partnering

WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF BECOMING A SEED-FUNDING SPONSOR PARTNER?

The benefits to Sponsor Partners will be tenfold in terms of economic return to their community. There will be easy measurements for the economic data based on the turn over, profit and expenditure of the Founding micro-enterprises. We will also be measuring social and emotional impact for Founders, and attempt to measure the ripple this will have in community – which we expect to have the greatest impact

AS A SPONSOR PARTNER

Choose the geographic location to focus on – local/regional/state
Opportunity to develop research projects around the Scheme
Economic development and injection into the local economy with potential for minimum
$500,000 new money circulating or being injected into the community for every 20 microenterprises supported
10 or more new micro-enterprises supported to grow, thrive and generate profits in the region of your choice
Long term benefit to the community for those who continue their business /participation beyond the initial sponsorship through THE Seed Scheme ecosystem
A pool of community leaders being nurtured and supported
No required active involvement for your direct team other than promotion and sharing, unless desired
Opportunities to engage and collaborate with with the local Founder cluster group and add further value or connect
Direct connection to your successful Founders as well as the extended network of other participating Founders

FOR YOUR ORGANISATION

National media coverage and promotion of your participation, celebrating successes along the way
Brand awareness and connection to a larger purpose
Exposure of your organisation’s profile as proactive, investor supportive & progressive

OUR COMMUNITY

Who And Where Are Our Sponsor Partners

Your organisation is socially conscious, innovation and investment focused, and deeply passionate about rural Australia progressing and succeeding. Sponsor Partners can include:

Local Government, State Government, Federal Government, Governing Bodies, Banks, Regional Development Australia, Corporate Business, Philanthropists, Giving Circles, Business, Community, Employment, Drought and Indigenous Support Organisations, Media, Mining Companies or Individuals.

“From little things big things grow”
– Paul Kelly

WHO IS THE RURAL WOMAN?

THE Rural Woman’s mission is to re-imagine connection for isolated people and to enable rural women to both #livelocalgrowglobal and #bloomwheretheyareplanted.

Since launching in 2014 the team has been delivering award-winning world-class mentoring, training and coaching in business, leadership and personal development. With the head office located in the outback opal mining town of Lightning Ridge, NSW, the business has a team of 15 across Australia and Asia including coaches, administrative, tech and training consultants, a membership of 100+ active users and a weekly reach of 20,000, THE Rural Woman is a rapidly expanding influencer and activator in the use of technology and micro-enterprise to catalyse the renewal of rural communities in Australia and across the world.

In 2015 we were recognised as a Regional Online Hero by Google and Regional Australia Institute and in 2016 we won the Lexus & Collective Hub Start Up Award.

#livelocagrowglobal

In late 2017 we partnered with an Australian tech company, aptness.io, and launched

www.theruralwoman.com.au

An innovative platform providing a cutting edge eco-system for rurally based female-led micro enterprises wanting to start or scale online. Incorporating global best practice from the start up, micro-financing and online business communities with an innovative learning management system delivering training in business, leadership and personal growth, a social network enabling connection between users and a multi-functional tech suite providing a one login online business management platform for Members. The system incorporates a multi-vendor marketplace where Vendor’s products and services are aggregated into one ‘super-store’ by rural women for the world, providing leverage and connectivity never before experienced by women doing business in isolation – geographically or otherwise.

WHO ARE OUR MICRO-ENTERPRISE FOUNDERS?

Micro-Enterprise Founders are women drawn from across Australia who have an idea or a passion for starting a new venture and require seed-funding and support to get started!

Founders will be selected through a competitive application process for the region/area of the Sponsoring Partner’s choice.

Priority will be given to women who are:

Living in a Rural Regional or Remote locality
Wanting to start a business (while still employed)
Currently un-employed or under-employed (part time/casual
Aged 55+
Indigenous
Impacted by drought
In an area of high socio-economic disadvantage
From a migrant or refugee background
Seeking off-farm income
Products and services sold through the platform incur a 12.5% fee which Founders must consider in their pricing
Interested in value adding existing product
Experiencing isolation
Demonstrating a willingness to invest in themselves (20% of cost of program $6/week for first 12 months)

SUCCESS SO FAR

SHEILA’S STORY

“DREAMS DO COME TRUE”

Sheila lives in Ungarie in NSW, Population 332.
She is an author, healer and retreat leader.
Sheila wanted to host online retreats but didn’t think she’d have the technical ability.
With support from THE Rural Woman’s all in one platform, training videos and weekly business workshops she launched her first online retreat and made a sale within the first 24 hours – to a woman who had wanted to attend a retreat but never had the time to travel. She can now connect to Sheila’s retreat online..
Such is the power of technology to connect, support and inspire!

“Thank you so much for your support and for having the program that I could tap into, that I only just once imagined using”

LINDA’S STORY

“CONFIDENCE TO ASK FOR HELP”

Linda is 55 and lives in Tamworth NSW, population 20,000
She is a soapmaker who uses dairy goats milk.
Linda is also an exhibiting artist with an Advanced Diploma in Fine Art. Through her membership with
THE Rural Woman Linda has received support with her website, computer skills, personal development and financial advice which has given her the confidence to know she can get help anytime she needs it.
With our support, Linda had the courage to leave her job and go full-time in her business so she can pursue her soap making and farm-shop dreams.

WHAT EXACTLY ARE YOU SEED-FUNDING?

Joining The Rural Woman has given me the confidence to ask for help and expanded my knowledge of where to find information and get the help I need to pursue my business dreams

LANNAH’S STORY

“SHOWCASE MY BOOK & LEARN”

Lannah is a wife, mum, granny, author, journo, photographer and is passionate about the outback and the way of life.
In May, 2017 she published ‘Red Dust Dreams’.
Lannah is based in WA and describes herself as a wife, mum, gran, author, journo, photographer, advocate.
Like everything, Lannah sees THE Rural Woman as a part of a mammoth learning curve.
Joining THE community has shown her just how versatile and wonderful other rural and remote women can be, particularly given the isolation so many live with.
She also hopes some of them will be interested in her book, which focuses on the domestic side of life on Australian Outback Stations.

THE Rural Woman is helping me by providing the chance to showcase my book and meeting other rural women and always learning new things

WHAT EXACTLY ARE YOU SEED-FUNDING?

Your Scholarship Partnership will provide 80% seed-funding to micro-enterprise Founders to engage in the 12 month Program below:

The funds provided will enable Founders receive:

Access to pathways to growth funding and low cost/doc lending through other National partnersv
12 months Mentoring in a PROVEN online Business, Leadership and Personal Development Program.
12 months access to the technology required to start or scale an online business and become members of THE Rural Woman online community.
Access to an online micro-enterprise ecosystem for connecting with other Founders for support, advice and encouragement

MICRO-ENTERPRISE FOUNDER CONTRIBUTION

Your Scholarship Partnership will provide 80% seed-funding to micro-enterprise Founders to engage in the 12 month Program below:

The funds provided will enable Founders receive:

Products and services sold
Founders will contribute 20% of the cost to participate – $6/week to the Scheme to ensure they have ‘skin in the game’ and are used to paying a monthly fee. Once the seed-funding period ends they will be required to pay $48/month for continued access to weekly training, support and the technology beyond the initial 12 months
Founders must ensure they have good access to internet
Founders must agree to participate fully in all aspects of the program and make a commitment to meet deadlines and follow the established program
Founders agree to launching at least 1 product or service during the course of 12 months with a focus on doing what they love, being of service, profitability and scalability

FOSTERING REGENERATION

We believe what goes around comes around and it makes smart business sense to develop regenerative practices in business.

It’s why all Founders products and services are listed in THE Rural Woman Marketplace which is promoted to encourage rural women to buy from each other fostering the #livelocalgrowglobal movement.

It’s also why we have a re-funding model built into THE Seed Scheme, ensuring the funded Founders are returning the support they received (paying it forward) and that the business is reinvesting in the growth and expansion of our programs and technology.

Of the 20% contributed by Founders:
25% = 50% scholarship for 1 Australian Woman in 2019/2020 Seed Scheme
25% = contribution to a Micro Finance Project in a developing nation to support women into micro-enterprise
50% =contribution to a ‘Growth Funding Pool’ whereby Founders can pitch for loans to grow their micro-enterprise to the next level

HOW DOES IT WORK?

We manage the process from beginning to end, with as much involvement of you and your team as you desire.
Step 1: Partnership Agreement outlining the responsibilities of each party, the geographic area for focus on, reporting and evaluation frameworks
Step 2: Marketing Application process
Step 3: Applicants reviewed and selected by THE Seed Scheme Panel which includes Sponsor Partners
Step 4: Applicants announced and onboarded
Step 5: 12 month program commences
Step 6: Quarterly review and reporting
Step 7: Program end and evaluation

OUR PARTNERSHIP

Let us help you easily contribute to the economic potential of the women in your community!

We do all the work for you in the process of development, management and implementation of THE Seed Scheme and are able to customise the benefit to your specific organsiation and community.

Local Partners
We have Seed-Funding packages starting at $6,000 + gst for small (pop 7500 or less) organisations and Councils which enables the development of 10 women-led micro-enterprises in one geographic location and from $12,000+ gst which enables the development of 20 women-led micro-enterprises in one geographic location.

State Partners
Our State partners will seed fund a minimum of 5 pods of 10 women across their selected state with packages starting at $30,000+ gst

National Partners
A National partnership seed-funding for a minimum of 8 pods of 10 women with packages starting at $48,000+gst

We welcome Sponsorship from single organisations across multiple locations/states.

We also encourage industry specific seed-funding for micro-enterprises.

For an additional $7500+ per cluster of 10 Founders we can offer an amazing face to face Digital Literacy Workshop that will significantly improve the confidence and camaraderie of the women in that cluster.

Become a Founder or a Partner

Please contact our Project Manager for THE Seed Scheme Rachel Allan to discuss your options and how we can best serve the needs of your organisation and the women in your region.
email: admin@theseedscheme.com.au