Street Cred

Brenda's Story

"I design women's footwear. Street Cred found me an organisation that would help me out together a website, I've learned a lot.

Without a doubt Street Cred helped me turn my idea into a reality. Things like accounts and cash flow and marketing are things I didn't know about.

When I first met with Street Cred, I had an idea but not a product, they helped me find a manufacturer and find funding to get the samples put together. I took a microcredit loan which I've just paid off.

The development workers have been really helpful. I'm dyslexic and writing things up is a real challenge for me. If they can't help you, they redirect you and help you find the service that you need."

Street Cred provides loans, training, support and advice to women as they start their own businesses

Our local community in east London is diverse, vibrant and bursting with potential. Yet our businesses rarely reflect this diversity, and women in particular face real barriers to employment.

Street Cred is a creative response to this need, working with women who are unemployed or on a low income to realise their potential through developing their business ideas. We provide business training, support and microcredit loans to women who might otherwise struggle to enter the job market.

But Street Cred is not just about providing material resources. It also focuses on building the self-confidence and self-direction of women as they embark on unchartered waters. Through one-to-one sessions, mentoring and support groups we enable women to follow realistic ambitions and to develop the skills they need to become financially independent.

If you would like to talk to someone about self-employment, contact Street Cred on 020 7729 9267, or email the team on streetcred@qsa.org.uk