Conestoga’s commitment to fostering entrepreneurship and the creation of successful new businesses to build our community has received a major boost, thanks to the generous support of BMO Financial Group.
Susan Brown, senior vice president of BMO’s Ontario Regional Division, announced today that BMO Financial Group will provide $250,000 to support Conestoga’s new Centre for Small Business, which will provide support to individuals who wish to create their own business enterprises and assist local companies in bringing innovative products and services to market.
Embedded within the Centre for Entrepreneurship, the BMO Financial Group Centre for Small Business will serve as the foundation for business development and support services, including business coaches, financial advisors, legal advisors, marketing strategists, and succession planning specialists. It will provide new and experienced entrepreneurs with opportunities to share and access knowledge and advice as they develop their enterprises and become engines of our community’s economic growth.
“Small businesses are the backbone of many Canadian communities. In fact, they account for almost 98 per cent of our private enterprises and are responsible for more than one-third of all new private sector jobs created in the last decade”, said Susan Brown. “Conestoga’s new Centre for Entrepreneurship promotes the development of small businesses by providing the educational support, mentoring and guidance needed for long-term success.”
The BMO Financial Group Centre for Small Business will open early in 2013.
“We are very grateful for the generous support that BMO has provided for the new Centre,” said John Tibbits, president of Conestoga. “Given the growing importance of small business to our local economy and job creation, this investment will make a tremendous difference to individuals across the community and help sustain regional prosperity.”
For more information, visit www.conestogac.on.ca/giving
For media inquiries, contact Brenda Cassidy, 519-748-5220 ext 3336 or bcassidy@conestogac.on.ca