Regional lender CBDC Cabot celebrated its 35th year of operations during its annual general meeting earlier this year. Among those on hand were, from left: Director Kevin Pomroy, Director Wendy Taylor, Executive Director Margo Soucy, Business Coordinator Pooja Khokar, Loans Monitoring Officer Kathryn Anderson, Youth Ventures Coordinator Caleb Mercer, Program Coordinator Jill Jubabir, Business Development Officer Danny Reid, Administrative Assistant Trina Whelan and Chairperson Bill Scott. Olivia Bradbury photo
This past year saw CBDC Cabot celebrate its 35th year of operation.
The community business development bank, which serves communities girdling Conception Bay from Logy Bay to Marysvale, has approved some $42.5 million in loans over those years, its executive director Margo Soucy noted during the group’s annual general meeting held at The Launch in Holyrood earlier this year.
This year, Soucy added, Cabot hit a new milestone, with “over $3.5 million in approved financing for businesses and social enterprises across Northeast Avalon, supporting a wide range of industries.”
Soucy admitted it was an unusual peak but she hopes it is also the start of a continued trend following declines experienced during the pandemic years.
Besides financing small businesses and social enterprises, Cabot offers advising, consulting, and training.
Soucy’s presentation allowed members of CBDC Cabot to reflect on the corporation’s accomplishments. Local entrepreneurs were also commended for their success and influence on the community and economy. Soucy said that as the team behind CBDC Cabot is small, they rely greatly on volunteers and community and business partners.
“We’re just a team of five so you can imagine it’s very difficult to get into every community and learn about every business and social enterprise, so we really do rely on community partners to help us,” she said.
Soucy said the corporation has to stick to its roots and stay rural. Another goal is to be able to help their clients even more proactively. “A lot of what we do is dealing with clients in the moment,” said Soucy, “but we are trying to get to a point where we’re helping them five years ahead.”
