Blog

SYDNEY – A business founder loan program for temporary Canadian residents is designed to help newcomers establish roots in their Cape Breton communities.

The Immigrant Loan Program is a pilot initiative by Coastal Business CBDC (Community Business Development Corp.).

According to Patricia MacNeil, executive director of Coastal Business, the loan program is open to those over the age of 19 who do not yet have permanent residency in Canada.

The program has an initial funding of $ 250,000 and provides loans of up to $ 20,000 for eligible applicants planning to start a business. She said the program is specifically designed for people with temporary residence status.

“In the past few years we’ve had a number of temporary residents asking for help starting their business,” said MacNeil.

“We could help them with counseling support and training for temporary residents looking to start a business, but we couldn’t give them credit to help them start their business and that’s what they wanted to be looking for.”

She explained that some newcomers’ business ideas never get off the ground because banks generally do not offer loans to people with temporary residence status.

“Traditional financial institutions do not provide business start-up loans to temporary residents, so people thinking about business start-ups who are in the process of immigration can be challenged,” MacNeil said.

“So we looked at this demand for service and thought we could do something about it, so we started this pilot.”

Use the loan to finance business expenses:

• Capital assets
• Start-up costs
• Working capital

Recipients also receive:

• Advisory services
• Training seminars
• Consulting services

The program was only recently launched and no loans have been approved yet. However, the acting head of the Cape Breton Island Immigration Center (CBICI) doesn’t think it will be long before newcomers with temporary status looking to start a business in Cape Breton will catch the attention.

“This is great news for our customer base because, from what we hear from them, sooner or later there will be people looking for that help,” said Nadine Paruch, Interim Manager of CBICI, adding that some customers of the Center companies owned or still own their home countries.

“Before this loan became available, there were often times when CBDC representatives held workshops or briefings on what would be available until the status changes from an international student to a permanent resident graduate to a citizen see a bit different. “

David Dingwall

The loan program was also welcomed by Cape Breton University President David Dingwall, whose post-secondary institution will sign a Memorandum of Understanding with Coastal Business to encourage creativity, growth and innovation.

According to Dingwall, the CBU recognizes the importance of providing opportunities to its students, graduates, and their family members in the hope that they will have permanent residence in the area.

And the CBCD’s MacNeil also recognized the need to help emerging businesses get on track to expand Cape Breton’s once-shrinking population and improve the cultural fabric of their communities.

“We had reasoned that those who came to us who expressed an interest in staying here and starting a business would take root and the more firmly rooted a person was in the community, the more likely they would be to stay in the community Community when they get permanent residence, ”MacNeil said.

Loan recipients can use the loan to fund business expenses such as fixed assets, start-up costs, and working capital. You will also receive advisory services, training seminars and advisory services.

David Jala is a business reporter for the Cape Breton Post.

CONNECTED: