REDI Fund
Roma Entrepreneurship Development Initiative Fund SA (REDI Fund) is the first Roma focused investment fund. REDI Fund facilitates access to finance for Roma entrepreneurs by lending up to EUR 1 million to micro-finance institutions to finance Roma entrepreneurs and/or SMEs active in Roma communities. We started lending in 2022 and reached assets of EUR 4 million as of Q2 2024.
Community impact
EUR 0.4 million
In grants offered as Technical Assistance to partner microfinance institutions
News
April 4, 2024On February 28th, 2024, Skopje, North Macedonia, became a hub for innovation and inclusion as the 2024 REDI Summit kicked off. This year’s theme, “Roma Inclusivity in Green & Digital – Innovation and Environmental Equity,” took center stage, highlighting the critical role Roma communities play in building a sustainable future for all.
The agenda featured a series of dynamic panels tackling the challenges and opportunities faced by Roma entrepreneurs. Panel I, “Unlocking Opportunities: Exploring Innovative Financing for Roma Entrepreneurship and Community Development”, delved deep into the financial landscape. Experts discussed alternative funding mechanisms like impact investing, microfinance, and community-based funds. These innovative approaches hold the potential to unlock the entrepreneurial spirit within Roma communities and pave the way for a more prosperous future.
Panel II, “Empowering Tomorrow: Promoting Inclusive Growth, New Jobs and Digital Horizon – Western Balkans EU Accession Expedition for Marginalized Communities”, explored the skills and training needed for Roma communities to thrive in the digital age. Discussions centered around potential investments, measures, and programs aimed at bridging the skills gap, fostering employment, and preparing Roma communities for the future job market, particularly in digitalization. By equipping themselves with the tools for the jobs of tomorrow, Roma entrepreneurs can become active participants in the digital revolution and contribute to the economic growth of the Western Balkans region.
The 2024 REDI Summit went beyond financial inclusion and digital literacy. Panel III, “Bridging Gaps for Roma in Sustainable Green Energy Transition”, tackled a crucial environmental concern: ensuring equitable access to clean energy. The conversation explored the challenges faced by Roma communities in adopting solar energy solutions and discussed strategies for promoting solar equity. By empowering Roma communities to participate in the green energy transition, the REDI Summit aimed to create a more sustainable future for all. The discussions also highlighted the vital role Roma communities can play in reducing their carbon footprint and becoming active contributors to a greener future.
The REDI Summit wasn’t just about identifying challenges; it was about finding solutions and fostering collaboration. The fireside chats with REDI Business Club Members and the Awards and Certificates Ceremony served as testaments to the achievements of Roma entrepreneurs and the potential for future success.
This 3rd edition of the REDI Summit, held in Skopje with roughly 200 attendees, buzzed with energy and a shared commitment to building a more inclusive future. The event was made possible through the generous support of the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Policies (DG NEAR), the Open Society Foundation (OSF), and the Roma Foundation for Europe. Their recognition of the critical role Roma entrepreneurs play in social and economic development is a testament to the growing momentum of the REDI initiative. [...]
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April 3, 2024On April 9, 2022, in Belgrade, the organization REDI (Roma Entrepreneurship Development Initiative) organized an initial meeting with Roma entrepreneurs from Serbia. The meeting was attended by entrepreneurs from various economic sectors, experts and members of the REDI team from North Macedonia and Serbia.
Many years of experience have shown that the establishment of business clubs is crucial for the economic development of Roma communities, because it brings innovative approaches to social inclusion.
REDI’s goal is for the Business Club in Serbia and North Macedonia to bring together Roma entrepreneurs, who will play an important role in changing the perspective of Roma in society, motivating successful entrepreneurs to engage in public discourse and influence investment programs for Roma communities.
At the initial meeting, a 12-member CORE group of the “Roma Business Club” was formed, which will continue to gather Roma entrepreneurs from Serbia. The objectives, mission and short-term work plan of the business club have been adopted.
The Roma Business Club aims to represent the interests of Roma entrepreneurs before national, international and business institutions, work on their mutual cooperation, promotion, and partnerships to create a more favorable business climate for the development of Roma entrepreneurship and its formalization.
We invite all interested business people, entrepreneurs, experts, highly educated Roma and people with business ideas and experience to join us.
This event is part of the action funded by the European Union: EU Support to REDI – Training and Advancement of Roma Entrepreneurs in the Western Balkans. [...]
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April 3, 2024REDI NGO and ProduseHandmade.ro have joined forces to support and empower Roma entrepreneurs to scale their businesses to the next level. With the technical support of our organization, ProduseHandmade.ro will support individual entrepreneurs to develop their businesses by providing a full-scale range of services starting with logistics, picking up orders, delivery, distributing orders across Roma Business Club.
“Produse Handmade” (www.produsehandmade.ro) was launched in September 2020, a period when the sights of the Covid-19 were still filling the space across the globe, with the goal to provide the Roma entrepreneurs the needed support to continue to generate income.
“These products are designed for the contemporary needs of reconnecting life to nature and protecting the environment, because our products involve clean and best quality raw material.
We want to bring back the traditional Romanian craft in the contemporary, trying to cover a wide range of materials: wood, copper, silver, brass, wicker, hazelnut, textiles, leather, etc.
We focus on the manual making of objects and their uniqueness, we also offer their personalization according to the client’s preference. We are promoters of the useful, of the authentic Romanian traditional, of the aesthetics, and we address exclusively the beauty lover of the artisan decorative artistic style.”, is the mission statement of “Produse Handmade”.
Through different programs, REDI NGO also had to pivot their ongoing projects and react at the grassroots level, and several digitalization projects were kicked-off and finalized during 2020. With our combined knowledge and after assessing the needs of the entrepreneurs, aligned objectives of the two entities, this project has come to life. The workflow is simple:
Entrepreneurs will continue to do what their do best: craft unique and amazing products
ProduseHandmade.ro will take over logistics
REDI NGO will provide technical support, will handle advertising, and will bring more entrepreneurs to the network [...]
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