THUNDER BAY – The head of the Business Development Bank of Canada says local entrepreneurs he’s talked to have high hopes for the region’s economic future.
BDC president and CEO Michael Denham was in Thunder Bay on Wednesday, visiting with clients, including Sleeping Giant Brewery, on a bit of a fact-finding mission about the business climate in Northwestern Ontario.
Despite news that emerged earlier this month that Bombardier could cut as many as 550 jobs at its Thunder Bay plant, most business owners are looking ahead with optimism, he said.
“What I’ve discovered so far, I do get a sense that there is a positiveness and there’s lots of activity. Our office here is one of the busiest we have in BDC, which speaks to the amount of investments and projects and growth here,” said Denham, whose self-funded Crown organization has issued about $300 million in outstanding loans to more than 400 clients in Thunder Bay and surrounding areas.
“So the impressions I’ve gotten since I’ve arrived are really positive about the level of confidence and the forward-looking nature of entrepreneurs here.”
Denham said there are plenty of reasons for that optimism, mostly the quality of the goods and services available in the city.
“Here for example, at Sleeping Giant Brewery, they make great beer. And there’s a market for great beer. They’re distributing all across the province. I’ve been at a number of engineering firms and there is lots of engineering activity in the area,” Denham said.
“I think the GDP in the area and is fairly buoyant, so overall there’s just a demand and a fair amount of confidence by entrepreneurs that underpin that.”
One area Denham said the Business Development Bank of Canada is working hard to improve in is helping women entrepreneurs get their foot in the door.
He said they’ve made them a priority.
“We’re committed to making sure women entrepreneurs get the access to the financing they need and the access to the advice that they need to build and see their businesses succeed. We’ve committed to double the money that we lend to women entrepreneur funds,” Denham said.
The organization has also developed venture capital funds that strictly invest with women-led businesses.
“There’s a variety of factors at work, but our goal is to make it as easy as possible for women entrepreneurs to have the confidence and support that they need to access financial resources,” he said, adding investment has grown by 40 per cent in the first year and change of the program.
Andrea Mulligan, co-founder and CEO at Sleeping Giant Brewery, said having the support of BDC has been helpful every step of the way during her company’s growth.
She’s equally hopeful they’ll be there for them in the future.
“They’ve been really supportive and they’ve been instrumental in our growth. What’s exciting too is we’re looking at the possibility of maybe exporting one day, and I know there are a lot of new developments in that area too,” Mulligan said.
