NOHFC helps local entrepreneurs start their own businesses

Nipissing MPP Monique Smith
News Release

********************

In Nipissing, a total of $31,485 is being invested in local businesses through the Northern Ontario Entrepreneur Program. With support from the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation (NOHFC), these entrepreneurs are offering new products and services in the Nipissing region:

Battery Battery, a full-line retail battery store, was established in North Bay, with the help of a conditional grant in the amount of $5,600.

Blush Total Image and Makeup Consultant received a conditional grant in the amount of $9,960 through the Northern Ontario Entrepreneur Program.

Blueprints Jewelry Design Studio also received an $8,800 conditional grant to open a jewelry design studio for sales and course instruction on hand-crafted jewelry.

The Bakery Rack received a conditional grant in the amount of $7,125 to establish a mobile bakery business.

Support for these initiatives is part of the government's five-year Open Ontario plan to create jobs and economic opportunities in Northern Ontario.

“By supporting the creation of small businesses in Nipissing, we are helping professionals, trades people and others bring great ideas to life,” said Monique Smith, MPP for Nipissing. “Each new job created by a small business helps keep our local economy growing.”

“Through the generosity of NOHFC’s Entrepreneur Program grant, Blueprints Jewelry Design Studio has been able to purchase necessary tools and equipment, and set up a combination Gallery/Workshop studio dedicated to the production of jewelry art. The needed financial assistance this grant provided has contributed greatly to the anticipated success of this venture and the proprietor’s realization of creating a jewelry art centre that will encourage and promote the rich artistic culture that is part of North Bay,” said Joanne Wigle, proprietor of Blueprints Jewelry Design Studio.

QUICK FACTS

• Since 2005, the NOHFC has invested more than $162 million in 937 private sector projects, creating about 3,700 new jobs and sustaining nearly 1,400 jobs.

• More than 99 per cent of all businesses in Ontario are small- and medium-size enterprises. They employ nearly 2.9 million Ontarians and account for $250 billion in annual economic activity.

********************