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Good news! More money for business loans and community development is being pumped
into Elgin County through the Elgin Business Resource Centre.
The St. Thomas-based centre, which distributes funds from Industry Canada and some
Government of Ontario programs, has already approved business loans in 2009
surpassing the value of those made in all of 2008. A new lending program for the
agriculture sector is under way, and an income assistance program for new
entrepreneurs is busier than ever.
Since introducing a new website, www.elginbusinessresourcecentre.com, along with a new name
and logo in March 2009, the resource centre has seen its activity levels soar. The
federal government is releasing more stimulus funds and is depending on the Elgin
Business Resource Centre to get them into the right hands.
Formerly the Elgin Community Futures Development Corporation, the Resource Centre
provides support for existing and new small businesses through a variety of services
and programs. It is an important source of capital to entrepreneurs through its
lending program, which this year has been expanded significantly.
The lending limit for loans to qualified clients for starting, expanding or preserving
a business has been raised to $250,000 from the previous $150,000, and that level
will be maintained through March 2010, says Glenn Thorel, one of the centre’s experienced business counsellors.
He reports that, through mid-September, the centre had approved 23 loans worth a
total of $809,000, compared with 24 loans valued at $785,000 for all of 2008.
“We are attempting to lend more in absolute dollars and in the number of loans,”
Thorel says. “I expect that we will exceed $1 million in loans for 2009.”
New Development Fund
An additional source of funding has just been added to the Elgin Business Resource
Centre’s programs. It is called the Sand Plains Community Development Fund,
www.sandplains.ca
The purpose of the fund is to help people in the counties of Elgin, Oxford, Brant, Middlesex and Norfolk to generate new economic development opportunities that move
beyond tobacco production. Up to $15 million will be available over five to ten
years.
The fund is built upon two complementary components. The Community Development Support
component will provide funding to projects designed to develop new and sustainable
opportunities. The Access to Capital component will increase the availability of
capital for small businesses by providing loans with long-term and flexible repayment
terms.
Thorel says the Elgin Business Resource Centre is eager to take applications for
the Sand Plains Community Development Fund. The five counties targeted by the fund
expect to have $3 million available for disbursements by March 31, 2010.
Self-Employment Benefits Program
Another way that the resource centre is helping to pump more funds into the Elgin
County economy is through a program that is a catalyst for entrepreneurship and
small business development.
The Self-Employment Benefits program permits qualified people who are unemployed
to receive income supplements while they are starting a business. The budding entrepreneurs
can receive funds provided by Employment Ontario for up to 42 weeks as well as business
counselling and assistance with writing business plans from the Elgin Business Resource
Centre.
This program typically helps to generate about 35 new businesses a year in Elgin
County, but Thorel says that the number is expected to climb to about 60 in 2009.
The resource centre offers a variety of other economic development programs and
events in collaboration with
local organizations, including its Consumer Business
Expo, the Eat Fresh, Buy Local campaign, a Marketing Caravan and an annual Trash
Talkin’ waste-management symposium.
Thorel says the centre’s focus is to help build and support Elgin County businesses
with a minimum of time and paperwork.
“We are not process driven, we are client focused,” he says. “This is a place where
you can walk in and get some answers quickly.
“We will not waste time pushing paper around. Many people
come in with only 15 or
20 minutes to spare, and we try to give them the right answers without delay.”
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