Social Capital Partners and Ontario Government to begin consultations with Canadian financial institutions for a Community Loan Pilot Project

November 7, 2014| News release

TORONTO, Nov. 7, 2014 – Social Capital Partners is pleased to announce an innovative collaboration with the Government of Ontario designed to explore a novel social finance approach that provides employment opportunities for people with disabilities and other vulnerable populations.

In the coming weeks, consultations with Canadian financial institutions will explore ways to scale the Community Loans Pilot Project.

This approach is based on the past success of Social Capital Partner’s Community Employment Loan Program which has facilitated loans to business owners of franchises in more than 60 locations who have committed to hiring those at a disadvantage. The interest rates of the loans are directly linked to the desired social outcome: for every employee hired from a community agency partner, the interest rate on the loan decreases. Such financing attracts communityminded business owners who have entry level positions with the potential for career growth and advancement. It’s a win-win scenario: disadvantaged job seekers are offered opportunities for meaningful employment while small businesses gain access to attractive financing terms and motivated employees.

With support provided by the Government of Ontario, Social Capital Partners worked with Deloitte to complete a feasibility study of how a program like this could be scaled. The study concluded that by offering an interest rate incentive to small and medium sized enterprises that implement a community hiring program savings would be realized by the reduction of other government support costs.

The study concluded that this financing scheme is an untapped opportunity to provide job opportunities to disadvantaged groups. The study is available on the SCP website www.socialcapitalpartners.ca.

The government and Social Capital Partners will now begin consultations to refine the design with the goal of implementing a pilot to test the model in the near future.

“Ontario is pleased to work with Social Capital Partners to start consulting with Canada’s leading financial institutions to help scale up the Community Loans Pilot. This program is a great example of an innovative solution that improves employment opportunities for persons with disabilities and others facing employment barriers, and helps them become active participants in the workforce.”
– Brad Duguid, Minister of Economic Development, Employment and Infrastructure

 

“We are excited to work with the Ministry of Economic Development, Employment and Infrastructure to take our existing Community Loan Program to the next level, working closely with both bank and community partners. We view this as an important step to expand the use of community employment practices by Canadian business owners, helping to facilitate employment access to countless job seekers who face added obstacles in finding work. We believe this is a prime example of how social finance can be leveraged to engage the private sector and generate win-win solutions.”
– Bill Young, Founder and President of Social Capital Partners

“We view this as an important step to expand the use of
community employment practices by Canadian business owners, helping to facilitate employment access to countless job seekers who face added obstacles in finding work. We believe this is a prime example of how social finance can be leveraged to engage the private sector and generate win-win solutions.”

Economic policy Labour & skills Leveraging capital Local economies Small business

Share with a friend

Related reading

BlogIn the mediaThe Ownership Solution

How Employee Ownership Trusts keep wealth in Canada | Canadian Business

The coming wave of business successions will shape Canada’s economy for generations. In Canadian Business, Jon Shell explains how employee ownership safeguards economic sovereignty, while boosting growth, productivity and local wealth, giving employees struggling with affordability a new source of income. As entrepreneurs and owners seek alternatives to selling abroad, the employee ownership trust (EOT) provides a practical answer. Instead of letting the EOT tax incentive expire at the end of 2026, now is the time for the government to double down on employee ownership.

BlogExplainer

A housing boom isn’t a win for wealth equality and here’s why

Canada's wealth gap appeared to narrow between 2019 and 2023 and we set out to make sense of this. SCP's Director of Policy Dan Skilleter, the lead author on our 2024 Billionaire Blindspot report, connected with sector colleagues working on wealth concentration and dug into all the best available data. What he found was that the dip was largely a mirage, driven by a pandemic housing boom that temporarily inflated the one asset ordinary Canadians hold: their home. Meanwhile, these soaring prices locked out an entire generation from building wealth altogether.

Blog

A Conservative case for Community Benefits Agreements?

When a developer builds a new bridge or transit line, a Community Benefits Agreement ensures the project will also benefit the people living nearby. In Canada, CBAs have long been seen as a progressive policy tool. But what if Conservatives embraced them too, just with different priorities? In this piece, SCP's Director of Policy Dan Skilleter explores how Conservative governments might champion their own vision for CBAs and what that means for advocates on the left. The lesson: if you want good social outcomes from big projects, stop letting perfect be the enemy of the good.

Skip to content