MWDI Business Loan

Before you apply

This is a loan, not a grant. You pay it back over five years at 3% plus a 1% administration fee, and the penalty rate is 6% if you miss a repayment. Worth saying plainly because it sits alongside grants in this directory and it is a different thing.

The requirement that decides it is security, and it stops a lot of people. You must put up security to the full value of the loan. Property, business chattels that are insured, a motor vehicle no older than five years that is registered and insured, or antiques with an independent valuation. Household items such as TVs and whiteware are explicitly excluded. If someone co-owns whatever you use, they have to be a guarantor and sign a deed of guarantee.

You also need written evidence that a financial institution has declined you. That is a step to take before applying, not during.

And the minimum is $10,000. You cannot borrow $3,000 for stock, so this suits a real step up rather than a top-up.

A business plan is required and the template is the one MWDI HineBoss participants complete — it downloads from their criteria page. It asks for your SWOT, your competitors and your point of difference, and where your industry sits in the wider economy.

No further MWDI funding until an existing loan is repaid. A credit check is part of the process.

MWDI is an Indigenous financial institution governed, managed and operated by wāhine Māori, established by the Māori Women’s Welfare League. They also run HineBoss, a three-day wānanga focused entirely on getting your business plan done, plus coaching and financial capability programmes — all listed on their service suite page. If the loan is out of reach today, HineBoss is not. 04 499 6504, mwdi@mwdi.co.nz.