CBDC Southwest - Annual Report 2023-24

Message from the Chairperson

John Bowles, Chairperson

This past year inflation has been the key element in many business decisions The Bank of Canada increased interest rates several times over the past year to combat the rising cost of inflation. This impacted not only the cost of borrowing but the cost of all goods and services.

The inflationary impact has been felt by all businesses both small and large Many have had their ability to generate revenue impacted. Some have been able to increase their prices and keep operating but at the expense of lower profits. Others decided that it was simply too expensive to continue to operate Our local entrepreneurs as well as their families have been impacted by the cost of everything from groceries to electricity.

In addition to rising costs, the need for employees also continued to be evident. An increased minimum wage and a competitive market for skilled workers influenced many business decisions over the past year.Some businesses put off expansion or decreased their overall operations. They have been and are still unable to recruit or retain the needed workers to function at full or expanded capacity to meet the needs of their clients Supply chain issues have also impacted business. Shipping costs, as well as production stoppages and slowdowns, have left some businesses with little inventory or product.

All these challenges have necessitated a fundamental change in the way in which businesses operate. The retention of skilled workers has pushed wage costs higher than ever before. This coupled with rising costs have made it difficult for businesses to keep prices low.

Many have begun to invest heavily in automation, or self-service options to improve productivity and keep costs low to maintain their competitive edge.

We at CBDC Southwest have done our best to meet the needs of the business owners during this period In the 2023-2024 year, we approved a total of 44 loans, valued at over $4 3 million

In addition to this, we continued to provide targeted services such as entrepreneurial training, programs, and funding options to our area businesses so that they could pivot their operations and address the above-mentioned changes and challenges that they faced over the past year.

CBDC Southwest is a non-profit organization made up of volunteers from within our rural communities This allows our organization to react quickly to local business needs Our board members are key in providing feedback, guidance, and support to our rural businesses. I would like to take this opportunity to thank you, our board members, for your support. You all have made an impact in our rural communities and our statistics reflect this

To the team of Southwest, we recognize your commitment to going above and beyond for our clients. Our organization has an amazing team with a community-minded focus, and we would like to congratulate you on another successful year

We would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge key partners that have assisted Southwest over the past year.

Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency

The Department of Post-Secondary Education, Training and Labour, and Working NB

Opportunities New Brunswick Ignite Fredericton, and Planet Hatch

Thank you for working with us this past year Together we made a difference

In closing, although this coming year may present numerous challenges; we know our organization will continue to adapt so that we can meet the needs of rural businesses and clients in the coming fiscal year, while we continue to invest in our rural communities

John Bowles, Chairperson

Message of the Executive Director

Heather Hubert, Executive Director

nging one be a topic nd existing business owners and their families. During this past year while the Bank of Canada was busy fighting inflation, many of our clients were fighting to stay viable.

CBDC Southwest during this past year continued to support our clients while working together with our partners. We provided new and existing clients with access to funding, counselling, training and as well as the muchneeded support to keep their businesses operating in this challenging economic environment

CBDC Southwest has continued to ensure that our rural business owners have access to financing and support. This year we approved over $4 3 million of investment for our area business owners A total of $4 7 million was disbursed under our Regular Investment funds, which included:

17 general business loans with a total dollar amount of $2,018,486, 10 Youth Loans with a total dollar amount of $856,800, 17 First-Time Entrepreneur, and Social Enterprise Loans, with a total approved dollar amount of $1,317,750. In addition to our loans, we also approved 20 Self-Employment Benefit (SEB) applications for a total of $342,320

These investments in turn have created and maintained a total of 274 full-time and part-time jobs and have allowed for a total investment of $4.7 Million in the rural communities of Carleton, York, Sunbury, and Queens Counties.

Our achievements during this past year would have been impossible without the numerous clients we work with each day Thank you for your trust and support and for encouraging your friends, family, and associates to consider us in their business startups, and expansions.

I would also like to thank our board members Our board members give us the gift of their time which is invaluable. They sacrifice their family time, as they believe in the power of supporting our rural areas. Your contributions of time, guidance, and expertise helped to make this year a successful one.

Finally, a tremendous thank you to the team of CBDC Southwest. I am proud to say we have a dedicated team of community-minded professionals. Many of us live in the rural communities we serve and see the impact that we have daily Everyone works tirelessly – on weekends, and evenings – whatever it takes to get the job done. Simply put I am thankful and so very privileged to work alongside you. Thank you to Matthew, Richard, Honey-Lee, Sean, Elma, Timothy, Cody, Patricia, and Greg.

As we look forward to the next year of operation, we pledge to continue to service the needs of our rural communities. We will be there to help our rural communities grow and thrive.

Heather Hubert, Executive Director

CBDC Southwest: making a difference in five key areas

CBDC Southwest’s goal is to make our rural communities better places in which to live and work. We do this by fostering sustainable growth through dedicated partnerships, responsible development, and healthy economic fundamentals. CBDC Southwest helps rural entrepreneurs in Carleton, York, Sunbury, and Queens Counties. Our Board of Directors is comprised of members from the rural communities our organization serves. These members have a wealth of experience which they use to guide our efforts.

Creating local jobs: Over the past year, CBDC Southwest helped to create and maintain 247 jobs in our rural communities. We believe that supporting small businesses stimulates local development and helps to diversify our local economy

Maintaining and growing rural populations: We believe that small businesses are the backbone of our rural economies. Over the past year, more than half of the loans we disbursed had an impact on attracting both youth and permanent residents. We are proud to support the growth of our vibrant rural communities.

Leveraging local resources and partnerships: CBDC Southwest provides daily referrals to our partner agencies. We believe in providing as many referrals as possible to ensure our clients’ success We work with a wide range of provincial and

federal partners to meet our clients’ needs.

Fostering community: CBDC Southwest proudly supported our local rural communities’ not-for-profit organizations and social enterprises over the past few years with our Social Enterprise Loan. These businesses not only provide services and support to our communities, they often serve as the central gathering points for those local rural communities. We believe in investing in our rural communities.

Boosting

community involvement:

CBDC Southwest has a team of community-minded employees. Our team members volunteer for various sports organizations, as well as other local nonprofits. Our team believes in community involvement and actively looks for opportunities to support our local communities

For fiscal year 2023-2024, three business sectors were most active in the CBDC Southwest region. A significant increase in applications in these sectors was observed when compared to past years.

Wholesale & Retail Tourism Construction

Investment in the region

Requests processed

Applications received

Applications approved

Amount invested

Impact on businesses

New start-up

Existing businesses

Total

Impact on employment

Jobs created

Jobs maintained

Total

Training sessions

Number of sessions

Amount granted

Number of business counselling sessions

Number of clients

Self-Employment Benefit

Applications approved

Value of assistance

Consultant Advisory Services

Number of clients

Amount granted

Building strong entrepreneurial leverage in the Southwest region

Total value of assistance from the CBDC and financial leverage over the past five years

Over the 2023-2024 year our rural entrepreneurs have been starting new ventures and expanding current ones. Many businesses are still being cautious in their expansions due to the uncertain economic conditions over that have been even more unstable the past year. This uncertainty and caution has been reflected in the amount of loans approved for the 2023-2024 fiscal year for Southwest. Since inception, CBDC Southwest has injected $88.5 million in the community.

Number of applications approved for each CBDC loan product

Breakdown of amounts disbursed per loan product (in millions of dollars)

In 2023-2024 Southwest approved 17 General Business Loans with a total disbursed dollar amount of $2,018,486, a total of 10 Youth Loans with a total disbursed dollar amount of $856,800, as well as a total of 17 First-Time Entrepreneur, and Social Enterprise Loans, with a total disbursed dollar amount of $1,317,750

The number of businesses who received financial assistance over the past five years

Southwest had a small decrease in the total number of startups from 23 to 17, and our total number of existing businesses has held steady at 17 this year.Despite the lower disbursements in 2023-2024, CBDC Southwest has had an increase in clients accessing our services.

Jobs created and maintained in the community over the last five years

Southwest recorded a large increase both the jobs created and maintained in the region for 2023-2024 compared to last year with 274 compared to 148 in 2022-2023.

CBDC Programs and Services

Who We Are

CBDCs are not-for-profit organizations run by volunteers from the local business community who firmly believe in improving the economic viability of their region. There are 41 CBDC offices in Atlantic Canada dedicated to the development of small businesses and assisting entrepreneurs in accessing financing and other business training and resources.

What We Offer

Tailored solutions for young entrepreneurs aged from 18 to 34 that are interested in starting, expanding or modernizing their business. Youth Loan

First-Time Entrepreneur Loan

Targeted financing for the first-time entrepreneurs starting or purchasing their first business

General Business Loan

Designed to assist entrepreneurs when traditional avenues of financing are not available, for either creating, purchasing or succession planning.

Assist in the development of the knowledgebased economy, the adaptation and commercialization of technology Innovation Loan

Social Enterprise Loan

Tailored financing designed to assist social enterprises.

What We Do

Our objective is to help build stronger communities in Atlantic Canada by stimulating private sector employment in our rural areas. CBDCs work throughout rural Atlantic Canda in the creation, expansion and modernization of small and medium sized businesses.

Entrepreneurs

Self-Employment Benefit (SEB) Program*

Provides financial and coaching support to new entrepreneurs during the planning and startup phase of their new business.

Business Counselling

Business counselling in the form of advice to new and established entrepreneurs.

Consultant Advisory

Services

Available to small and medium-sized business, as well as non-for-profit organization, to access technical and financial assistance by engaging consultants to assist them in various topics.

Tailored trainings in specialized areas such as marketing development, bookkeeping, feasibility studies and business analysis Skills Training

*SEB is funded by the Government of Canada through the Canada-Provincial Governments Labor Market Agreements.