“The CBDC was formed when the federal government could see that the commercial banks were backing off from lending in rural communities,” says Martina MacDonald, the executive director at the CBDC in Main Street Montague. As a result, the CBDCs were started in the 1990s. “The government started giving money back to those communities under the direction and guardianship of the CBDC volunteer board of directors.” With three locations across the Island (Alberton, Summerside, and Montague), the CBDC offers financial assistance, including loans and equity financing, as well as training and services for new small businesses. The CBDC is one of the main tenants at the Rural Action Centre in Montague, which acts as a one-stop service centre where established businesses and start-ups can access varying support programs to help launch and grow their business or community projects.
“We handle all types of businesses, from fabrication, restaurants, and nurseries to childcare. There is not too much that our board will not participate in. We consider taking risks that the commercial banks won’t normally take. It’s this money that is used as investment capital that new businesses need in order to get started,” MacDonald says, adding, “We have a very engaged board of directors who take their jobs very seriously, so we have a very well-oiled machine here. A lot of success stories have graced these doors.” One of those “success stories” belongs to Jason Tompkins, owner of One Tuna Inc. “As I was looking to build Canada’s first bluefin tuna processing facility, I was introduced to CBDC in Montague. They helped me develop my plan and helped finance the business. Without their help, it never would have happened,” he says. “They are the very best to deal with. Not just during the funding process, but the continued advice and consultation after getting started is invaluable. The staff and their service is second to none here in PEI.”
“In the Rural Action Centre, we provide a lot of training for these business start-ups, including the Success Series that
Jim Conohan, the artisan and owner of Along the Edge Juniper Works, echoes that. “They’re great people, and they make sure
“We have a very engaged board of directors who take their jobs very seriously, so we have a very well-oiled machine here. A lot of success stories have graced these doors.”
- Martina MacDonald
we’ve developed in-house,” says MacDonald. “The Success Series includes learning how to create successful business plans, as well as successful business basics, successful social media and marketing. So, when a new client comes in here, and they want to start their own company, they will have the basic requirements for running a successful business.” While proposing a new business venture might sound daunting at first, MacDonald says that it is not as intimidating or overwhelming as you might suspect. “A client comes to the office and has a dream or has a passionate idea for a business; we sit down and talk with them about it,” she says. From there, MacDonald takes the proposed business loans to her board of directors, a regionally located group made up of volunteers, which meets once a month to discuss and vote on various business proposals and loans.
you’re ready to handle the opportunities that come with owning your business. They really helped me make the right decisions.” In fact, Conohan was so pleased with his experience at the CBDC that he made them a plaque engraved “‘CBDC: People helping people in Eastern PEI.’ That’s who they are.”
CBDC / Rural Action Centre 540 Main St, Montague 902.838.4030 www.cbdc.ca www.ruralactioncentres.ca
▲ Patsy Gotell, ED Island East Marketing Group, Gerald Arsenault, Innovation PEI. ◄ (L-R) Terri Taylor , Holly Fitzpatrick , Martina Mac Donald, Krista McKeeman
WOMEN IN BUSINESS 2020
SPRING 2020 www.pei-living.ca
49
Made with FlippingBook - Online magazine maker