On Wednesday, the Société d’aide au développement des collectivités du Fjord and the Société du Lac-Saint-Jean Ouest unveiled the investments they have made in the region for 2022-2023. Respectively, they have invested $650,307 and $1,032,047 to help businesses develop, receive coaching from specialists, or address economic development issues such as workforce retention.

Charles Martel, Chairman of the Board of Directors of SADC du Fjord, shared the organization’s financial results at the Annual General Meeting held on June 20.

Business financing, one of the three SADC business lines, was once again overwhelmed by requests for support of all kinds. In all, nearly thirty companies sought support from external specialists or from SADC du Fjord’s experienced resources. Local economic development projects were also added.

The Projet d’aide aux petites entreprises touristiques rurales (PAPETR) also performed well this year, with a total of $270,769 shared between ten businesses. It was designed to provide non-repayable contributions for improvements or the acquisition of new equipment.

For the year 2022-2023, SADC du Fjord has also continued to support major local economic development issues, such as attracting and retaining workers, housing, economic diversification and pooling resources.

The organization also offers numerous services and tools for businesses, including sustainable development, digital transformation, regular financing and youth loans.

SADC Lac-Saint-Jean Ouest

For its part, the SADC du Lac-Saint-Jean Ouest unveiled the total amount of its repayable and non-repayable contributions, which came to $1,032,047 this year, the second-highest total in the last five years. In all, 97 business applications were accepted and processed, resulting in the creation or retention of 285 local jobs and $4,778,764 in local investment.

This dynamism can be explained by the arrival of two new programs, Virage vert, which enabled the SADC to inject $63,899 in the form of non-repayable contributions into six sustainable development projects, and PAPETR, under which 14 tourism business projects in the Domaine-du-Roy shared $270,947.

A network of experts to better support and guide entrepreneurs in their business succession efforts was also created last November, in collaboration with the Domaine-du-Roy MRC. The Cercle d’échange Femmes en affaires du Pekuakami has also been set up to meet the needs of women entrepreneurs on the territory.

To meet the challenges of the coming years, SADC has launched two new financial products: the Digital Transformation Loan, which aims to support businesses in their digital shift through financing, and the Tourism Loan, which will help tourism businesses develop their offering and support their investment projects.