Entrepreneurs with Disabilities Program

Vancouver and Victoria, British Columbia

Western Economic Diversification Canada's (WD) Entrepreneurs with Disabilities Program (EDP)  assists entrepreneurs living in the Greater Vancouver Regional District and the Greater Victoria District who have a disability and are interested in pursuing self-employment goals. The EDP supports the federal government's ongoing commitment to help reduce barriers and increase self-employment opportunities for Canadian entrepreneurs with disabilities.

Description

In Vancouver and Victoria, Vancity  Savings Credit Union (Vancity) and Coast Capital Savings Credit Union (Coast Capital) offer the Vancouver and Victoria components of WD’s EDP, which is known as ABLED (Advice and Business Loans for Entrepreneurs with Disabilities).

The program is specifically designed to improve access to business services and other support mechanisms to entrepreneurs with disabilities who are thinking of staring or expanding a small business. In addition to business services. ABLED includes flexible loans that provide individual business loans of up to $35,000 to:

• start or expand a business;
• purchase and apply new technology;
• upgrade facilities and equipment;
• develop marketing and promotional activities; and
• establish working capital.

Who is eligible?

The Vancouver and Victoria components of WD’s EDP are specifically designed to benefit individuals living in the greater Vancouver and greater Victoria areas who have a disability and are interested in opening their own business or need support for an existing one.  Loans are available to benefit small business people that have a self-declared long-term disability and meet the following criteria:

• have a viable business plan
• are operating, or proposing to operate a business in the Greater Vancouver Regional District, the Fraser Valley Regional District, or the Greater Victoria area; and
• have less than 50 employees and average annual total sales not exceeding $1 million.

To be eligible, interested applicants must clearly show a commitment to starting or expanding a small business. This may involve demonstrating a significant time commitment to the start-up or management of the business and some financial stake in the potential or existing business.

What are the terms of the loans?

ABLED’s flexible loan terms:

• range up to a maximum of $35,000;
• allow up to five years for repayment;
• feature interest rates set at the Credit Union’s Prime Rate* plus a risk premium.

Final decisions on all loan approvals are made by Vancity and Coast Capital.
* The Credit Union Prime Rate fluctuates with market interest rates.

How can I apply?

For more information on ABLED,  the Vancouver and Victoria components of WD’s EDP,  contact:

VanCity Savings Credit Union
Telephone (604) 709-6965
Website www.vancity.com/

Coast Capital Savings Credit Union
Telephone:  Vancouver Island (250) 483-7000
Telephone: Lower Mainland (604) 517-7000
Website www.coastcapitalsavings.com/

What other services may I be eligible for through Western Economic Diversification Canada?

With over 100 points of service in urban and rural communities across the West, the Business Service Network is made up of several integrated organizations that provide entrepreneurs with what they need to establish a business or make it grow.

Network partners work at the local level to ensure western Canadians have direct access to information on a wide range of financing alternatives, which will help determine your eligibility for services that best suit your needs. They offer various services from marketing and funding options to counselling and support.  For more information on the services our network provides and the network member nearest you, please visit WD’s Business Service Network.