A $1.5 million investment from FedNor will allow a local business to continue regular operations for the next five years.
MP Patty Hajdu (Lib., Thunder Bay – Superior North) announced Tuesday an investment of $1.5 million in support of Thunder Bay Ventures, a not-for-profit organization that finances new businesses and expansions.
The contribution will be the company’s core funding over the next five years to allow for business counselling and access to capital services.
Thunder Bay Ventures board president Johnny de Bakker said the investment will give the company some certainty over the next five years, so they can continue operating the way we are without any worries of losing funding.
“Without (the funding) we wouldn’t exist,” de Bakker said. “We are here at Dawson Trail Brewery, and as you may have heard earlier Dawson Trail exists today because of a loan they received from Thunder Bay Ventures.”
De Bakker added that some small and medium-sized businesses in the city wouldn’t exist without the company’s operation.
“We are the lender of last resorts,” de Bakker said. “We are here to support small to medium-sized businesses who simply can’t get a loan from a bank.”
The funding will allow Thunder Bay Ventures to support those with their idea as long as it stimulates the Thunder Bay economy.
Hajdu said the funding is actually a contribution in terms of a commitment to community economy development programs that make a different in the economy of Northwestern Ontario.
“We know that small and medium-sized businesses are the backbone of Canadian economy,” Hajdu said.
“When you hear stories – with a small company that starts up through the support of some places like Thunder Bay Ventures and not even six months later they actually have staff on board that’s exactly the kinds of stories that are happening across the country.
Hajdu added that it’s important to invest in theses supporting programs that make it possible.
