July 2, 2020
At least 10 women living in Kingaroy and surrounding areas will have the opportunity to take part in a year-long business-building program after the South Burnett was selected for the latest round of The Seed Scheme.
Part-incubator, part-business school and part-life academy, The Seed Scheme helps women in rural and regional communities bring new business ideas to life or grow existing businesses.
It is run by The Rural Woman, an organisation set up by well-known rural champion Rebel Black to reverse the trend of rural decline.
However, the South Burnett’s involvement with the program came about almost by accident.
A conversation with a friend led to local woman Kathy Cope sending an expression of interest to The Seed Scheme for Kingaroy and surrounding towns to participate in the program’s current round.
“A friend sent me a link about the scheme because we’d been brainstorming business ideas,” Kathy said.
“I think her plan was for us to apply to do the 12-month program but somebody had to apply for the region to be included in the program before we could do that.
“She was busy so I sent in an expression of interest and then kind of forgot about it until the successful regions were announced.”
Kathy is now the activator for the scheme, which involves sharing information, answering questions about the expression of interest process and what to expect from the year ahead.
Local participants – collectively known as a “pod” – will have a remote co-ordinator and access to experts across multiple aspects of business.
Training, mentoring and support is offered through a blend of recorded, live and some face-to-face contact, and includes an eight-week intensive at the beginning of the program.
While the scheme is heavily subsidised, a small investment from each participant is required.
The 12-month program is open for applications for its upcoming round of enterprise and leadership development, with EOIs closing on July 10 via an online form
You can contact Kathy with any questions about the program, or corporate partnerships and support, by phoning her on 0417-735-554 or by email
