‘Mission impossible’ becomes a reality

Ellen Brudet, the shop’s owner, was born and raised in Amsterdam North and is of mixed heritage – her father was from Surinam and her mother was from the Netherlands. Growing up, Ellen’s first experience of playing with a dark-skinned doll she could identify with was when she was nine years old - when her mother was finally able to find one for her.  

“It was true mission impossible for my mom to buy a coloured doll for me to play with in the 1960s and it made her sad,” says Ellen. “Mom said, ‘Every child should have access to a coloured doll.’” It was those words that led Ellen to found the Coloured Goodies shop, with a €10,000 loan from Qredits.  

Qredits is an innovative Netherlands-based microfinance institution (MFI) that provides credit and business development services to micro-entrepreneurs. Established in 2009, it has created 25,000 jobs and approved 15,000 business loans.

A CEB loan of €16.6 million, approved in 2018, has enabled Qredits to lend to micro, small and medium-size enterprises (MSMEs) with the aim of creating and preserving jobs and entrepreneurship. The CEB loan has promoted Qredits' financial sustainability, allowing it to lower its interest rate from 10.75% to 8.75% and provide free e-learning materials. 

"This is the first black doll giftshop in the Netherlands,” says Ellen. “When I enter the shop, I think to myself: I did it, this is mine.”