Purple Shoots is a grassroots anti-poverty organisation that enables overlooked and marginalised individuals to build income, confidence and community through microbusiness. By offering small ethical loans, practical support through groups and individuals and long-term mentoring, we empower people to start sustainable enterprises and to build income and savings, not through handouts but through hope, belief and economic self-determination.
The organization was founded in 2013. The founder, Karen Davies, had a career history in financial services and a heart for social justice. She was aware that anyone facing poverty, with a low credit score and perhaps coming out of life crises, but wanting to be entrepreneurial, would never get any financial support from anyone in the financial services industry – not even Government backed ones. She set up Purple Shoots to fill this gap.