Desjardins has always emphasized community and local economic growth—what does receiving this title mean to your organization?
It certainly means a lot to have our support for SMEs recognized. Desjardins has been supporting local businesses for 125 years now, because we know it pays huge dividends for the community. In fact, the organization was founded to serve local farmers and tradespeople who were essentially operating small businesses, but didn’t have access to fair credit and savings.
The model was incredibly successful in 1900, and remains so today, but at scale. A healthy business ecosystem creates jobs, delivers on local needs, and puts money back into the community. It really is a virtuous cycle.
And when you empower small businesses, you’re empowering entrepreneurs. We want them to dream bigger; to be able scale up and hire more people, and to innovate so they can reach new markets.
That support goes right to the heart of our mission, which is to contribute to the development of communities by giving our members and clients the support they need to be financially empowered.
It’s an idea I think has a democratizing effect. It levels the playing field so everyone can take their financial future—and the financial future of their families and businesses—into their own hands. And that’s incredibly rewarding, for them and for us.
How is Desjardins supporting the financial health and resilience of small business owners today?
First off, we’re committed to businesses at every level and at every stage of their growth, from startups to mature businesses expanding overseas.
Our GoodSpark Fund is a great example. Over the past 8 years we’ve supported 920 projects across Ontario and Quebec and have committed a total of $280 million to SMEs by 2027. That’s money that goes directly to community initiatives that support local socioeconomic development.
We’re also focused on helping young innovators grow their business while they develop as founders. We have a great relationship with the University of Toronto Entrepreneurship community, a world-class program and an incredible ecosystem of startups we’re very proud to support. Because again, beyond simply funding innovation, we want to provide support that young entrepreneurs need when it comes to finance and to the management side of running a company.
The business environment hasn’t been easy the last few years. So besides traditional funding and grants, we’ve been very proactive about reaching out to our business clients. Desjardins account managers are always on the phone and visiting farms and factories across Ontario and Quebec. We need to know what’s happening for business owners, day-to-day, and to understand how we can support them.
So being able to provide that financial and personal support—for the business and the owner—is an important combination. It’s where Desjardins’s focus on the well-being of the community at large really comes through.
