2015 Annual Report

Finding Solutions for Small Business

2015

ANNUAL REPORT

2015 Annual Report

TABLE OF CONTENTS

MISSION STATEMENT………………………………………2

LOWBIC STAFF…………………………………………………3

BOARD OF DIRECTORS………………………………………4

REPORT OF THE BOARD CHAIR…………………………5

BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT & LENDING SERVICES……7

SELF-EMPLOYMENT BENEFIT PROGRAM………………8

PRIVATE SECTOR YOUTH INTERNSHIP PROGRAM (PSYIP), SERVICE AREA & CONTACT INFO……………9

2015 Annual Report

MISSION STATEMENT

“to facilitate, sustain and expand

a vibrant, regional diversified economy.”

Page 2

L-R: Allyson McTaggart, Ryan Reynard, Crystal Kast, Cierra Parkhill

Meet the LOWBIC Staff

2015 Annual Report Page 3

2015 LOWBIC Staff

Ryan Reynard Executive Director

Crystal Kast Business Development & Lending

Officer / SEB Coordinator

Allyson McTaggart Business Development & Lending

Officer

Leo Letourneau Youth Intern

Cierra Parkhill Youth Entrepreneurship

Project Coordinator

2015 Annual Report Page 4

2015 Board of Directors

Name Position

Fred Wright Chair

Sean Hughes Vice Chair

Tracy McDonald Treasurer

Sara Dias Director

Matt Wilkie Director

Shandis Duguay Director

Randy Nickle Director

James Hendy Director

2015 Annual Report

REPORT OF THE CHAIR - 2015

The Lake of the Woods Business Incentive Corporation provides essential services to entrepreneurs and small

businesses throughout the Kenora area. Our core services focus on Business Development activities, which in-

clude assisting clients develop their business plans and providing consultation services. Another primary focus is

to provide lending solutions or access to capital; this comes in the form of term loans and guarantees.

LOWBIC participates on various Community Development projects along with strategic community partners, such

as the new airport terminal development project. LOWBIC was instrumental in kick starting the airport redevelop-

ment project.

Our focus and efforts in community and business development have contributed to the stabilization of the econo-

my in Kenora and the surrounding area through the creation and maintenance of critical jobs in small businesses.

We must continue to focus on these core areas to maximize the value and effectiveness of LOWBIC’s impact on

the local economy, making the Kenora area an enviable place to live and work.

2015 was a very busy year once again, for the lending portfolio. We finished the year strong and pushed the total

value of the investment fund value to better than $7.6 Million Dollars! I am extremely proud of what LOWBIC con-

tributes to the local economy and continue to be amazed at how far the work of LOWBIC spans across our busi-

ness community. A significant number of local businesses have accessed LOWBIC’s services over the years, be-

fore moving on to a traditional financial institution; in 2015 there was approximately $765,000 in client pay-outs

from the traditional financial institutions. We are particularly pleased with this number as it demonstrated exactly

what the program was designed to do.

LOWBIC is becoming a regional leader through our Executive Director, Ryan Reynard. Ryan is the Chair of the

Northwestern Ontario CF Network and represents the NWCF’s on provincial and national focus groups and commit-

tees. LOWBIC is also leading and administering the two year $1.16 Million Dollar Private Sector Youth Internship

Project across the Northwest region. The project provides valuable work experience to skilled graduates while af-

fording small businesses the opportunity to hire additional staff at a reduced cost while growing their business.

The program has taken root and is gaining popularity.

The Investment Fund was very productive throughout 2015, providing an extremely valuable service to business

and entrepreneurs in the Kenora area. LOWBIC approved lending solutions to 15 businesses in 2015 with a total

amount reaching $1.74 Million Dollars. As a result of this lending activity, there were 83 jobs created & main-

tained with nearly $720,000 in additional dollars leveraged. The applicants represented a diverse cross-section

of industry including: tourism, transportation, construction, retail and hospitality.

Throughout 2015, we received 247 general inquiries regarding our fleet of services. LOWBIC provided 87 in-depth,

one-on-one counselling sessions to clients, assisting in areas such as: business planning & advice, marketing, pre-

paring & understanding financial statements, as well as balancing or re-structuring debt loads. This free counsel-

ling service provided by LOWBIC is quite valuable and has been well received by clients, especially in today’s rapid-

ly changing business environment!

Business Development & Lending

Page 5

2015 Annual Report

In 2015, LOWBIC did not deliver video conference workshops as our provider stopped offering video conference

training.

LOWBIC continues to provide various types of training, including one-on-one and in small working groups as re-

quired for client development. We provided 5 training events with a total of 124 participants; this included our

Small Business Week Mixer which continues to be a very popular event and great place to network. LOWBIC has

participated in several community development projects including the Kenora Airport new Terminal Development

project, the City of Kenora’s Value Added Forestry Sector Profile & Health Care Sector Profile.

LOWBIC was informed by MTCU in 2015 that the SEB program would no longer be supported and that the program

would not take on new participants as of May, 2015. This was unexpected and is a loss to those entrepreneurs

who required EI support while getting their business up and running.

LOWBIC administered the SEB program for nearly 25 years and was very disappointed to see the program discon-

tinued. There are still many businesses operating in the Kenora area that were started as a result of the SEB pro-

gram – it will be missed!!

You can see that 2015 was another excellent year. Each year I feel that we have reached our potential and then

Ryan and his staff manage to accomplish even more than the prior year. In addition to all the great results that I

have outlined, this year we will host the CFDC conference for northern Ontario in September, bringing hundreds of

delegates to our community. This was a result of our staff, with Board backing, applying and lobbying for this event

during 2015.

Our professional staff makes LOWBIC a success on a day to day basis and makes us proud to be part of LOWBIC!

They’re a dedicated team, focused on providing clients with the highest level of service.

The dedication and commitment of the LOWBIC Board of Directors is greatly appreciated. We represent many dif-

ferent sectors of our economy: small business, retail, tourism, finance, health and social services, education, and

construction. We bring a wealth of knowledge and expertise to the board room. We share the common goal of

strengthening our economy by providing lending services, small business counselling and customized training so

that our communities and our families will thrive. Our Board is made up of a good cross section of younger busi-

ness people, as well as more experienced veterans of the business world, providing excellent dynamics and func-

tionality.

Through the guidance of the Board, LOWBIC will continue to make a positive impact on the economic and social

stability of our area.

Respectfully submitted,

Fred Wright, Board Chair

April 7th, 2016

Training & Community Development

Self-Employment Benefit Program

Administration

Page 6

2015 Annual Report Page 7

BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT & LENDING SERVICES

The following Investment Fund overview is for approvals throughout LOWBIC’s catchment area

from January 1, 2015 - December 31, 2015:

General Inquiries 247 In-depth one-on-one inquiries 87 Loan Applications Approved 15 Jobs Created & Maintained 83

Loans Advanced in 2015

Loan Guarantee & Term Loans 15 $ 1,738,930 NWOIP (Pool Loans) 2 $ 121,000

Total 17 $ 1,859,930

** Dollars Leveraged (Non-Pool) as a result of 2015 loans $ 716,000

Investment Fund Summary

Total # of Loan Guarantees 12 $ 910,000 Total # of Term Loans 56 $ 4,211,561 Total # of NWOIP Loans 12 $ 611,341

Total 80 $5,731,902

2015 Annual Report Page 8

SELF-EMPLOYMENT BENEFIT PROGRAM

In 2015, LOWBIC administered the Self Employment Benefit Program (SEB) and

provided services to the Kenora, Fort Frances and Rainy River areas.

LOWBIC was informed by MTCU in 2015 that the SEB program would no longer be

supported and that the program would not take on new participants as of May, 2015. This

was unexpected and is a loss to those entrepreneurs who required EI support while get-

ting their business up and running.

LOWBIC administered the SEB program for nearly 25 years and was very disappointed

to see the program discontinued.

There are still many businesses operating in the Kenora area that were started as a result

of the SEB program – it will be missed!!

2015 Annual Report Page 9

PRIVATE SECTOR YOUTH INTERNSHIP PROGRAM (PSYIP):

OUR SERVICE AREA:

Contact Us: By Phone: (807) 467-4640 By Fax: (807) 467-4645 Website: www.lowbic.on.ca

LOWBIC offers service to the City

of Kenora, Municipality of Sioux

Narrows & Nestor Falls, First

Nation Communities and a vast

rural area. The entire service area

runs from Minaki in the North,

West to the Manitoba border, East

to Willard Lake & South to Sioux

Narrows / Nestor Falls.

Could your business use an extra

set of hands? The PSYIP provides

eligible businesses up to $31,500

to help off-set hiring and training of

qualified interns. (50% Matching)

Contact Allyson for more

Information...807-467-4651

Visit Us: Bannister Center,

2nd Floor 301 First Ave. South Kenora, ON P9N 1W2