Community Business Development Corporations (CBDCs) are not-for-profit organizations (located throughout rural Atlantic Canada) that provide financial assistance to entrepreneurs. Services include financial assistance, equity investments, training, counselling, and advisory services.

We work in cooperation with all levels of government and the private sector to meet the needs of small business. CBDCs are part of a larger network of 41 CBDCs in Atlantic Canada and 267 corporations across the country – all dedicated to meeting the financing and advisory needs of small and medium-sized businesses. Each CBDC has geographic boundaries. CBDCs operate under the Community Futures Program.

CBDCs assist in the creation of small businesses and in the expansion and modernization of existing businesses by providing support in the following areas:

• Financial assistance to a maximum of $150,000 is available in the form of loans, loan guarantees, and equity financing to existing and aspiring entrepreneurs. In extraordinary situations financial assistance to a maximum of $300,000 can be offered to qualifying entrepreneurs.
• Business counselling and advice is available to small businesses and, as such, we give high priority to the advisory and business counselling role of our mandate.
• Entrepreneurship development and training is available in many of our offices for individuals and small business owners/managers.
• Technical assistance usually takes the form of guidance and coaching, and sometimes advocating on behalf of the client to other lending establishments or regulatory agencies. We can also assist in such areas as marketing and business plan development, and in many instances act as a navigator for the entrepreneur.

We are not-for-profit community-based organizations run by volunteers from the local business community who firmly believe in improving the economic viability of their communities.