Canadian Rural Information Service
1-888-757-8725
Microcredit Pathfinder
Entrepreneurs who run very small businesses appear to face greater than usual barriers in obtaining working capital and other financing, especially from traditional financial institutions. Micro-credit can help fill this financing gap by lending to entrepreneurs who lack collateral, have no credit history or a poor credit history, are unemployed, are geographically isolated, or are seeking an amount that is too small to be profitable for other lenders.
This pathfinder aims to help rural Canadian entrepreneurs who want to finance a micro- business and who have had trouble finding credit from the traditional sources. It is also useful to communities or individuals looking for models for micro-credit programs. It includes a bibliography of articles, papers, and books on Canadian micro-credit experiences and initiatives as well as a selective catalogue of sources of micro-credit available to rural entrepreneurs. Micro-credit, in the context of this pathfinder, refers to business loans to individuals of amounts up to $25,000.
This guide is a growing document, we welcome suggestions for additions.
Please contact us at cris@agr.gc.ca
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Associations and Organizations |
Calmeadow Canada
Internet: http://www.calmeadow.com/canadian.htm
CGAP: Consultative Group to Assist the Poor
E-mail: cgap@worldbank.org
Internet: http://www.cgap.org/
Grameen: Banking for the poor
Grameen Bank Bhaban
Mirpur, Section-2
Dhaka-1216, Bangladesh
Tel.: 8802-9005257-68
E-mail: grameen.bank@grameen.net
Internet: http://www.grameen-info.org/
Grameen Foundation USA
1029 Vermont Ave, NW
Suite 400
Washington, DC 20005
E-mail: info@gfusa.org
Internet: http://www.grameenfoundation.org/
National Funding Programs
Aboriginal Capital Corporations (ACCs)
ACCs are Aboriginal owned and controlled business lending organizations. There are currently 31 ACCs across Canada. Variation among the corporations allows them to be sensitive to the needs of local and regional market conditions. Some capital corporations offer loan guarantees, operating loans, and technical and advisory services. To find an ACC near you, contact:
Aboriginal Business Canada - Indian and Northern Affairs Canada
10 Wellington Street,
9th floor
Gatineau, QC K1A 0H5
Tel: 1-800-567-9604
Fax: (819) 994-7223
E-mail: abc.ottawa@ic.gc.ca
Internet: http://www.ainc-inac.gc.ca/ps/abc/index-eng.asp
Sources of financing
This Industry Canada product offers a searchable database of financial services to meet specific business needs. Users can search by amount of loan, type of business, region and more.
Internet: http://www.canadabusiness.ca/epic/site/
sof-sdf.nsf/en/h_so00000e.html
Provincial Funding programs
Alberta
Community Futures Network Society of Alberta
Community Futures Development Corporations (CFDCs) are non-profit corporations that can provide counselling and advisory services, financial assistance in the form of loans, or loan guarantees to individuals and medium business.
Tel: 1-877-482-3672
Internet: http://www.cfna.ca/index.htm
Alberta Women's Enterprise Initiative
Each western province has set up its own component of the Western Economic Diversification Canada (WD) initiative.
The non-profit groups offer access to a loan fund, advisory services, and path finding to existing services.
250, 815 – 8th Avenue S.W.
Calgary, Alberta
T2P 3P2
Toll free: 1-800-713-3558
Tel.: (403) 777-4250
Fax: (403) 777-4258
E-mail: info@aweia.ab.ca
Internet: http://www.awebusiness.com/pages/home/default.aspx
British Columbia
Community Futures Development Association of British Columbia
Community Futures Development Corporations (CFDCs) are non-profit corporations that can provide counselling and advisory services, financial assistance in the form of loans, or loan guarantees to individuals and medium business.
Tel.: (604) 685-2332
Internet: http://www.communityfutures.ca/provincial/bc/
Comox Valley Credit Circle Program - British Columbia
This peer lending program aims to help low-income women in the Comox Valley who do not have access to conventional sources of credit for starting a medium business. The program offers loans of up to $2,000 as well as business training courses and peer support. For more information, contact:
Comox Valley Credit Circle
P.O. Box 3292
Courtenay, British Columbia V9N 5N4
Tel.: (250) 338-1133
Fax: (250) 334-9251
Women's Enterprise Centre
Each western province has set up its own component of the Western Economic Diversification Canada (WD) initiative.
The non-profit groups offer access to a loan fund, advisory services, and path finding to existing services.
Suite 201, 1726 Dolphin Avenue
Kelowna, British Columbia
V1Y 9R9
Tel.: (250) 868-3454 or 1-800-643-7014
Fax: (250) 868-2709
E-mail: info@womensenterprise.ca
Internet: http://www.womensentreprise.ca/
Manitoba
Community Futures Partners of Manitoba
Community Futures Development Corporations (CFDCs) are non-profit corporations that can provide counselling and advisory services, financial assistance in the form of loans, or loan guarantees to individuals and medium business.
Tel: (204) 943-2905
E-mail: info@cfpm.mb.ca
Internet: http://www.cfmanitoba.ca/
Business Start Program - Manitoba
This program from Manitoba Industry, Trade and Mines offers repayable loans of up to $10,000. It also offers assistance in the form of a no-cost 3 day Business Planning Workshop that will cover details on the Program, business plans, bookkeeping, financial management, business management, sales and marketing.
For more information, contact:
Program Coordinator - Manitoba Business Start Program
Small Business Development Branch
Competitiveness, Training and Trade
P.O. Box 2609
250-240 Graham Avenue
Winnipeg, Manitoba R3C 4B3
Tel.: (204) 945-7721
Fax: (204) 983-3852
E-mail: kelly.margaret@cbsc.ic.gc.ca
Internet: http://www.cbsc.org/servlet/ContentServer?
pagename=CBSC_MB/display&c=Finance&cid=1081945299398&lang=en
Community Works Loan Program (CWLP) - Manitoba
The Community Works Loan Program operates as a revolving loan pool that makes community-based loans available to small businesses in rural and Northern Manitoba.
For more information, contact:
Program Coordinator
Tel: 1-800-567-7334
Internet: http://www.gov.mb.ca/agriculture/ri/community/
ria01s03.html
Business Loans Program - Manitoba
The Development Fund aims to provide a source of capital for northern Manitoban businesses that are unable to secure financing from conventional sources. In addition, loans can be made anywhere in Manitoba when working in conjunction with a federal aboriginal funding program. A Business Resource Centre is also available in Thompson. For more information contact:
Development Fund Head Office
100 - 23 Station Road
Thompson, Manitoba
R8N 0N6
Tel.: (204) 778-4138 or 1-800-561-4315
Fax: (204) 778-4313
Internet: http://www.cedf.mb.ca/business.htm |
Business Loans Field Office
118 5th Avenue N.
Swan River, Manitoba
R0L 1Z1
Tel.: (204) 734-5025
Fax: (204) 734-5261 |
Rural Entrepreneur Assistance (REA) - Manitoba
REA assists full-time, medium and home-based businesses in rural Manitoba by providing loan guarantees for new business starts or expansions through participating financial institutions. Besides providing guarantees of business loans ranging from $10,000 to $100,000, REA also provides business seminars and mentorship service to successful applicants. For more information, contact:
Program Advisor
Tel.: (204) 945-2180
Internet: http://web2.gov.mb.ca/agriculture/programs/
index.php?name=aaa21s02
Women's Enterprise Centre of Manitoba
Each western province has set up its own component of the Western Economic Diversification Canada (WD) initiative.
The non-profit groups offer access to a loan fund, advisory services, and path finding
to existing services.
130-240 Graham Avenue
Winnipeg, Manitoba
R3C 0J7
Tel.: (204) 988-1860 or 1-800-203-2343
Fax: (204) 988-1871
E-mail:
wecinfo@wecm.ca
Internet: http://www.wecm.ca/
New Brunswick
New Brunswick Association of CBDCs
Community Business Development Corporations stimulate private sector employment in rural Atlantic Canada through business financing, counselling and advisory services to small businesses.
Tel: (506) 548-2406
Internet: http://www.cbdc.ca/index.php?rid=2
Business Development Program (ACOA)
This Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA) program is designed to help you set up, expand or modernize your business. Focusing on small- and medium-sized enterprises, the program offers access to capital in the form of interest-free, unsecured, repayable contributions.
ACOA New Brunswick
570 Queen St., 3rd floor
P.O. Box 578
Fredericton, New Brunswick
E3B 5A6
Toll Free: 1-800-561-4030
Telephone: (506) 444-6140
Fax: (506) 452-3285
Newfoundland and Labrador
Newfoundland and Labrador Assocation of CBDCs
Community Business Development Corporations stimulate private sector employment in rural Atlantic Canada through business financing, counselling and advisory services to small businesses.
Tel: 1-888-303-2232
Internet: http://www.cbdc.ca/index.php?rid=3
Business Development Program (ACOA)
This Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA) program is designed to help you set up, expand or modernize your business. Focusing on small- and medium-sized enterprises, the program offers access to capital in the form of interest-free, unsecured, repayable contributions.
ACOA Newfoundland and Labrador
P.O. Box 1060, Station "C"
11th Floor, 10 Barter's Hill
St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador
A1C 5M5
Toll Free: 1-800-668-1010
Telephone: (709) 772-2751
Fax: (709) 772-2712
Northwest Territories
NWT Community Futures Association
Community Futures Development Corporations (CFDCs) are non-profit corporations that can provide counselling and advisory services, financial assistance in the form of loans, or loan guarantees to individuals and medium business.
Internet: http://www.nwtcfa.ca/
Business Development Fund (BDF) - Northwest Territories
The Business Development Fund (BDF) is a contribution fund aimed at stimulating employment and economic development throughout the NWT. For more information, contact:
Northwest Territories
Business Development and Investment Corporation
701, 5201-50th Ave.
Yellowknife, Northwest Territories X1A 3S9
Tel.: (867) 920-6455
Fax: (867) 765-0652
Internet: http://www.bdic.ca/financial_programs.htm
Grants to Small Business - Northwest Territories
This program from the N.W.T. Department of Industry, Tourism and Investment provides grants to small business to assist in overcoming immediate
problems involving legal or accounting expenses or to assist with minor capital expenditures. The cumulative total financial assistance awarded to any applicant is limited to a maximum of $5,000. For more information, contact:
Department of Industry, Tourism and Investment, Government of the Northwest Territories
Box 1320
Yellowknife, Northwest Territories X1A 2L9
Tel.: (867) 873-7379
Fax: (867) 873-0114
Internet: http://www.iti.gov.nt.ca/businesseconomicdevelopment/
grantstosmallbusiness.shtml
Nova Scotia
Atlantic Association of Community Business Development Corporations
Community Business Development Corporations stimulate private sector employment in rural Atlantic Canada through business financing, counselling and advisory services to small businesses.
34 England Ave
Mulgrave, Nova Scotia B0E 2G0
Tel: (902) 747-2232
Fax: (902) 747-2019
E-mail: info@cbdc.ca
Internet: http://www.cbdc.ca
Business Development Program (ACOA)
This Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA) program is designed to help you set up, expand or modernize your business. Focusing on small- and medium-sized enterprises, the program offers access to capital in the form of interest-free, unsecured, repayable contributions.
ACOA Nova Scotia
1801 Hollis St., Suite 600
P.O. Box 2284, Station 'M'
Halifax, Nova Scotia
B3J 3C8
Toll Free: 1-800-565-1228
Telephone: (902) 426-6743
Fax: (902) 426-2054
Nunavut
The Business Development Centres of Nunavut
Tel.: (867) 979-1303
Internet: http://www.communityfutures.ca/home/files/nunavut.html
Ontario
Community Futures Development Corporations in Ontario
Community Futures Development Corporations (CFDCs) are non-profit corporations that can provide counselling and advisory services, financial assistance in the form of loans, or loan guarantees to individuals and medium business.
Tel.: 1-866-668-2332
E-mail: info@oacdc.com
Internet: http://www.ontcfdc.com/
Prince Edward Island
Entrepreneur Loan Program - Prince Edward Island
The program provides entrepreneurs with up to $25,000 for use as an investment in eligible new and expanding businesses. Loans are sourced through participating financial institutions and are fully
guaranteed by Prince Edward Island Business Development to a maximum of five years. For more information, contact:
PEI Business Development
P.O.Box 910
Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island
C1A 7L9
Tel.: (902) 368-6300
Toll free: 1-800-563-3734
Fax: (902) 368-6301
E-mail: business@gov.pe.ca
Internet: http://www.peibusinessdevelopment.com/
index.php3?number=63540&lang=E
Business Development Program (ACOA)
This Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA) program is designed to help you set up, expand or modernize your business. Focusing on small- and medium-sized enterprises, the program offers access to capital in the form of interest-free, unsecured, repayable contributions.
ACOA Prince Edward Island
3rd Floor, 100 Sydney St.
P.O. Box 40
Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island
C1A 7K2
Toll free: 1-800-871-2596
Telephone: (902) 566-7492
Fax: (902) 566-7098
Québec
Sociétés d'aide au développement des collectivités du Québec
The Réseau des SADC du Québec is a group of non-profit
organizations that focuses on economic and social regional development,
assisting rural Québec communities or those located in semi-urban areas.
Tel.: (418) 658-1530
Fax: (418) 658-9900
E-mail: sadc@ciril.qc.ca
Internet:
http://www.reseau-sadc.qc.ca/index.php?lang=en
SOLIDE - Société locale d'investissement dans le développement de l'emploi - Québec
SOLIDE is a non-profit corporation who manages an investment fund to help businesses, financially and technically, create and maintain local jobs. The SOLIDE offers loan between $5,000 and $50,000.
5050, boul. des Gradins, bur. 130
Québec, Québec
G2J 1P8
Tel.: (418) 624-1634 or
1 866 624-1634
Fax: (418) 624-0462
E-mail: solideq@fondsftq.com
Internet : http://www.solideq.qc.ca
Saskatchewan
Community Futures Partners of Saskatchewan
Community Futures Development Corporations (CFDCs) are non-profit corporations that can provide counselling and advisory services, financial assistance in the form of loans, or loan guarantees to individuals and medium business.
Tel.: (306) 751-1922
Internet: http://www.cfsask.ca/
The Northern Development Fund - Saskatchewan
This fund provides northerners with term financing for medium business ventures that involve: pursuing goods and services contracts for mining and resource sector development; providing and developing products and services that contribute to northern diversification; retail and service operations that are deemed essential to the community; traditional northern activities, such as fishing, trapping and wild rice production. For more information, contact:
Saskatchewan Northern Affairs
Box 5000
La Ronge Saskatchewan S0J 1L0
Tel.: (800) 663-4065
E-mail: sna@sna.gov.sk.ca
Internet: http://www.northern.gov.sk.ca/
Default.aspx?DN=d7bc93cd-35f6-4739-830e-0e90f7e2831f
Small Business Loans Association Program - Saskatchewan
The Small Business Loans Association Program provides business development
opportunities for the non-traditional or beginning entrepreneur, and extends financing
beyond the scope of traditional lenders. For more information, contact:
Saskatchewan Entreprise and Innovation
200 - 3085 Albert Street
Regina, Saskatchewan S4P 3V7
Tel: (306) 787-7154
Fax: (306) 798-0796
E-Mail: Linda.Welk@gov.sk.ca
Internet: http://www.ei.gov.sk.ca/SBLA
Women Entrepreneurs of Saskatchewan
Each western province has set up its own component of the Western Economic Diversification Canada (WD) initiative.
The non-profit groups offer access to a loan fund, advisory services, and path finding to existing services.
112 - 2100 8th St. E.
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
S7H 0V1
Tel.: (306) 477-7173 or 1-800-879-6331
Fax: (306) 477-7175
E-mail: info@womenentrepreneurs.sk.ca
Internet: http://www.womenentrepreneurs.sk.ca/
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Books and Journal Articles |
Beyond the bottom line - Social responsibility: are banks doing enough?
Canadian Banker 103 (September/October 1996): 24-30.
Brousseau, Francois.
Quand les dames de la terre se font entrepreneurs.
Le Devoir, 6 février 1997, p.A1.
Cannon, Margaret.
From farm to firm.
Chatelaine 70 (May 1997): 58.
Farm wives used to sell eggs and vegetables to make ends meet. Today, rural women are building on that tradition, running home-based businesses that make jobs for themselves - and often for their communities. Margaret Cannon meets a few entrepreneurs who are helping to change the face of rural Canada.
Connell, Martin.
Millions of lives renewed by trust and micro-credit.
Canadian Speeches 10 (April 1996): 35-40.
This speech by Martin Connell of Calmeadow to the Canadian Club of Toronto, February 19, 1996 discusses the origin of Calmeadow and its success in initiating micro-credit funds across Canada.
Growth in the grassroots : a rural lending circle has helped Nova Scotians make the jump from welfare to ownership.
Profit: the Magazine for Canadian Entrepreneurs 15 (October/November 1996): 8.
Hally, Simon.
The big issue of little loans.
Canadian Banker 103 (January\February, 1996): 5.
The term micro-credit, or micro-enterprise lending, generally refers to unsecured loans to very medium businesses operated by people of limited means who are unable to qualify for credit from traditional financial institutions. A problem is that nobody has figured out how to provide micro-credit cost effectively in an industrialized country. High administrative costs, not default rates, are the major difficulty.
Johnson, Amy.
Can banking change? Calmeadow's progressive lending gives credit where credit is due.
This Magazine 30 (March/April 1997): 9.
Calmeadow, a non-profit organization based on the Grameen Bank model of micro-credit lending, has micro-credit funds operating in Native communities, Vancouver, Toronto and Nova Scotia. The organization focuses on lending medium amounts ($1,000-$5,000) to people unable to get credit elsewhere.
Margolis, Judy.
Microcredit moves to mainstream.
Canadian Banker 106 (May/June): 26-31.
Margolis, Judy.
When a little money goes a long way.
Canadian Banker 103 (January/February): 26-31.
Canada's nascent micro-lending industry has been fostered at least in part by innovative credit-delivery methods such as peer lending, pioneered in Bangladesh by Muhammad Yunus, who founded the Grameen Bank 20 years ago. The bank has been replicated in 52 countries. In Canada, Calmeadow is its closest equivalent. Canadian banks continue to grapple with the issue of what, beyond philanthropy, their future role might be. One way in which the banks are exploring new avenues for sharing risks is through alliances with nonprofit financial intermediaries with solid track records in micro-lending.
Mitchell, Alanna.
Seed money for grassroots entrepreneurs.
Globe and Mail, 22 July 1997, p. A6.
Some of the obstacles facing native Canadian entrepreneurs are being removed by the concept of lending circles and Calmeadow's efforts to bring modest loans to entrepreneurs on Canada's Indian reserves. The success of Calmeadow's First People's Fund, begun in 1990 and wrapped up in 1994, continues with the spin-off of four separate and independent funds, based on reserves and managed by native Canadians. The lending circle concept entails a medium circle of four to seven people assessing the viability of each other's business projects. If projects are accepted, the other members of the circle guarantee the loan and draw money from the loan fund.
Picard, André.
Charity medium businesses can bank on: How a microcredit scheme and working together nutures the entrepreneurial spirit.
Globe and Mail, 15 December 1997, p.A2.
For more publications about micro-credit from an international perspective, see:
Informal Credit Markets Bibliography
Internet: http://www.gdrc.org/icm/ref-icm.html
Micro-finance Gateway - The Consultative Group to Assist the Poorest (CGAP - World Bank)
Internet: http://www.microfinancegateway.org/
Canadian Gateway to Microfinance
Internet: http://www.microfinance.ca/en/index.cfm
Enterweb - The Enterprise Development Website
ENTERWeb is an enterprise development website focusing on micro, small and medium scale enterprises, cooperatives, community economic development, both in developed and developing countries.
Internet: http://www.enterweb.org/welcome.htm
The Microcredit Summit Campaign
Internet: http://www.microcreditsummit.org/
Virtual Library on Microcredit
This page contains tools, in the form of practical ideas, guides, strategies, courses and methodologies; success stories, in the form of case studies, comparisons, inspiring ideas, and best practices; articles, in the form of theoretical and practical analyses of the issues of interest; and resources, in the form of organizational and operational information on current policies, programmes, projects and other initiatives.
Internet: http://www.gdrc.org/icm/
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