Funds to help business development

Nishnawbe Aski Development Fund plans to support small and medium-sized businesses in the 33 communities it serves in northwestern Ontario with a recent $1.36 million investment from FedNor.
“In addition, it will help us meet the growing need for investment capital so Aboriginal people can benefit from business opportunities related to resource developments, including the area known as the Ring of Fire,” said NADF chair Madeline Commanda.
NADF will use $960,000 to offer business support services and access to capital to small and medium-sized enterprises over a three-year period. A further $400,000 will be used to provide small and medium-sized enterprises with repayable loans, equity and loan guarantees.
The investment was part of $1.82 million in funding for support of First Nation small business development and growth in northwestern Ontario announced Aug. 11 by FedNor Minister Tony Clement at the NADF office in Thunder Bay.
“It’s all about jobs and economic development,” Clement said, noting it is “a little bit tougher” to raise capital for small and medium-sized businesses in rural northern areas than it is in larger urban centres. “The whole idea is to level the playing field a little bit to get that access to capital for these kinds of job-creating projects here in northwestern Ontario and throughout northern Ontario.”
Sachigo Lake Chief Titus Tait said the funding is important for his community because it provides support for some of their projects.
“We have a couple of projects ongoing that we get support from NADF,” Tait said. “This is important – continued support for communities that hope to have an economic base.”
Clement said the government of Canada is committed to helping communities capitalize on business opportunities, strengthen the local economy and create jobs.
“To that end, we continue to work in partnership with Community Futures Development Corporations (CFDCs), such as Nishnawbe Aski Development Fund, encouraging the entrepreneurial spirit in rural regions across the country,” he said.
The funding announcement also included $460,000 for Bingwi Neyaashi Anishinaabek First Nation (Sand Point) to establish an on-reserve industrial business park on the eastern shore of Lake Nipigon.
“It is a real opportunity for our community to develop an economic base in which to bring our community members home so they can feel truly healthy, not only culturally and spiritually, but also to have meaningful employment and create real revenue for our First Nation to contribute to the economy,” said Jean Paul Gladu, senior economic advisor for Bingwi Neyaashi Anishinaabek.
Gladu said there is a fine line between economic development and traditional values.
“We have a challenge ahead of us to continue to develop economic opportunities while maintaining that balance of not forgetting who we are as First Nations people,” he said.
NADF is one of 24 CFDCs funded by FedNor to serve northern Ontario businesses and communities. CFDCs are community-based not-for-profit organizations run by volunteer boards and staffed by experienced business and economic development professionals.