Future of Work 2015

The ACT Microcredit Loan Program celebrates 5 years at the Festival of Ambitious Ideas on 30 July

One of the highlights of this year's Festival of Ambitious Ideas, the annual showcase of Canberra's innovators, game-changers and status quo challengers, will be the celebration of 5 years of the ACT Microcredit Loan Program.

The ACT Microcredit Loan Program is delivered via a three-way partnership involving the ACT Government, Westpac Institutional Bank and Lighthouse Business Innovation Centre (Lighthouse).

This partnership seeks to provide fair, safe and ethical loans to eligible individuals wanting to start or grow a business.

Lighthouse CEO Anna Pino says, "The Festival of Ambitious Ideas seemed a fitting way to celebrate the many innovative businesses and entrepreneurial individuals who have participated in the ACT Microcredit Loan Program over the past 5 years."

The theme for this year's Festival of Ambitious Ideas is the 'Future of Work' and 12 speakers from a range of industries will share their experiences of how they have harnessed drivers of change such as flexible work, globalisation and collaborative technologies to meet future challenges.

"The event uses an Ignite format, where each speaker has only 5 minutes to tell their story and 'ignite' the audience," says Ms Pino.

"There's a great line up of speakers including astronomer and Nobel Laureate Professor Brian Schmidt; Jennifer Hancock from the new Canberra co-working space WOTSO Workspace; Incubator Facilitator Sebastian Perri from the Academy of Interactive Entertainment; Principal of Orana Steiner School Dee Whitby who will talk about the 2020 Classroom; Microcredit recipient and local eco fashion label PurePod and many more".

There will also be a number of displays showcasing companies taking part in the Microcredit program, including April's Caravan, Solution Solution, Tjillari Justice and PurePod.

Andrew Buttsworth, Head of Westpac Institutional Bank, ACT said "As Australia's oldest company and first Bank, Westpac has been helping Australian businesses start up for nearly two centuries. We think that Lighthouse's on the ground business mentoring expertise, combined with Westpac's funding and the ACT Government's policy support can genuinely change lives, and we are proud to be part of this important programme."

The Festival of Ambitious Ideas will be held on the 30th July from 5:30pm to 9pm.