SADC Matawinie held its annual general meeting on June 26. At this event, the SADC team presented the results of its actions over the past year, demonstrating the organization's full added value to the Matawinie RCM's dynamic economic development, particularly with regard to businesses on its territory.
The past year saw the implementation of a new partnership agreement with Canada Economic Development to support development in the Matawinie region, enabling the SADC to pursue its mandate, which has now been in place for over 32 years.
In terms of investments, more than $1 million was loaned to start-ups and growing businesses in Matawinie, generating $12 million in investments in the region. Notably with the arrival of new Business Funds dedicated to business succession and transfer, green initiatives and digital transformation, which complement SADC Matawinie's other funds to fully and actively support business growth.
The SADC confirms the importance of its services with more than 128 technical assistance and advisory services provided to businesses, in addition to 171 requests for information or referrals for business development. Nearly half of these were for start-ups, 29% for expanding businesses and 20% for business succession and transfer. The end of the year also saw the addition of two specialized services dedicated to businesses: innovation coaching and referral, and coaching in circular economy and GHG reduction in the field of sustainable development.
As part of the Matawinie MRC's economic development activities, the development of entrepreneurial skills has been at the heart of the actions undertaken over the past year. Concerted programming Formations Matawinie offered 9 training sessions on a variety of topics related to productivity and time optimization. In addition, many new entrepreneurs were able to benefit from advice and guidance from mentors via the business mentoring service offered by the SADC. In terms of networking, the Souper tournant des gens d'affaires de la Matawinie was once again a resounding success, in addition to activities related to strategic innovation in human resources. In addition to these activities, SADC is also involved in concerted action to ensure the cohesion of initiatives and strategic planning in various fields at local and regional level. These include housing strategies to accelerate the development of affordable housing, tourism, bio-food development, immigration, succession planning and entrepreneurship.
SADC Matawinie's action plan for the coming year, presented to members at this meeting, clearly demonstrates the determination of its Board of Directors and its team to offer adapted support to businesses in their growth, always free of charge, and to develop promising initiatives to enhance the influence and dynamism of our large and beautiful Matawinie territory.
A strong 2024-2025 balance sheet for Matawinie businesses!