Wednesday, January 23, 2019 – The De La Côte-de-Gaspé RCM and its partners, the Fédération québécoise des municipalités (FQM) and the Fonds locaux de solidarité FTQ, are proud to announce the creation of a $925,000 fund to support businesses on the RCM territory.
The launch of the new fonds local de solidarité (FLS) was confirmed this morning in the presence of Marie-Ève Proulx, Minister for Regional Economic Development and Minister Responsible for the Chaudière-Appalaches Region, the Bas-St-Laurent Region and the Gaspésie–Îles-de-la-Madeleine Region, Daniel Côté, prefect of the La Côte-de-Gaspé RCM, Délisca Ritchie-Roussy, Mayor of Murdochville and FQM director, Nadia Minassian, FQM director and Chair of the Table de concertation sur le développement local et régional, and Éric Désaulniers, general manager of the Fonds locaux de solidarité FTQ.
The mission of the FLS is to speed up business start-up, expansion and acquisition projects on the RCM territory. Its creation was made possible by the participation of the Fonds locaux de solidarité FTQ Limited Partnership with a $750,000 variable investment credit and contributions of $100,000 and $75,000 from the FQM and the RCM.
“The FQM and the Fonds de solidarité FTQ have been working together for almost 25 years and it’s the reason the local solidarity funds exist. It’s a partnership of which we can all be very proud. Our contribution was made possible by the $3.5 million allocated by the Québec government for the deployment of the FLS network in regions unserved until now,” said FQM Board member Délisca Ritchie-Roussy.
“We’re very happy to be able to count on the financial support and expertise of our two partners, the Fonds locaux de solidarité FTQ and the Fédération québécoise des municipalités, which share our belief in the potential of the entrepreneurs on our territory. The sizable financial support announced today is very telling in this regard,” said the RCM prefect Daniel Côté.
“The result of a partnership between the Fonds de solidarité FTQ and the Fédération québécoise des municipalités, the Fonds locaux de solidarité network is a proven local economic development model. Entrepreneurs in the La Côte-de-Gaspé RCM with bold and ambitious start-up or growth projects can now obtain financing from the FLS, which has funded 4,416 projects since its inception 25 years ago,” said in turn Éric Désaulniers, general manager of the Fonds locaux de solidarité FTQ.
Through its leverage effect, the FLS will complete the financing of business projects on the territory by allowing entrepreneurs to access other sources such as conventional loans from a financial institution, subsidies, capital outlays or other seed capital. The maximum amount available from the FLS is $100,000.
The La Côte-de-Gaspé RCM is now accepting requests for financing.