Oswald Sawh was the guest of honour at the Nov. 15 Thompson Chamber of Commerce meeting, where he talked about the Communities Economic Development Fund (CEDF), of which he is the CEO.
To date, CEDF remains the only northern-based provincial Crown corporation in Manitoba, and Sawh used his platform at the chamber to talk about how they’ve promoted economic growth in the north since 1972.
With its headquarters located in Thompson and sub-offices situated in The Pas, Winnipeg, Swan River and Gimli, CEDF’s primary function is to provide loans to different businesses across the province.
Since changing over from a program model to a business model in 1992, this Crown corporation has invested close to $100 million in development loans, with $15,540,317 of that sum going towards businesses in Thompson.
In 1993, CEDF absorbed the responsibilities of the Fisheries Loan Program and has provided $87,265,650 in commercial fishing loans since then.
According to their 2017 annual report, CEDF has also created 4,693 jobs and maintained an additional 12, 613 jobs since 1999.
While Sawh admitted that many Thompson businesses owners may be wary of using their services of the wake of the shutdown of the Birchtree Mine, he maintains that much of the projected downturn can be remedied by investing in local entrepreneurs and start-ups.
“Quite often people look outward to say, ‘OK, what we can bring in?’” he said. “You’ll find that over 90 per cent of job creation comes from actual local business expansion. It comes from individuals in the community themselves starting up the business. So we’re very proud to be able to support that type of activity.”
Following this Nov. 15 chamber meeting, Sawh mentioned that he will be presenting these figures to business owners in The Pas and Flin Flon the following week.
In order to read the CEDF’s 2017 annual report in full, please visit their website.
The next Thompson Chamber of Commerce meeting is scheduled to take place Nov. 29 at the Meridian Hotel.
