Just over a year ago, Mink Chocolates was facing closure as construction delays and cost overruns pushed the café's debt levels up.
Envision Financial, a division of First West Credit Union in Langley, British Columbia, said it stepped in to help shop owner Faith Gibson navigate through the financial difficulties.
“I've loved it from the start and didn't want to lose everything I had sacrificed for, so I reached out to Envision for help as I have been a member there for 22 years,” Gibson said in a statement from Envision Financial.
William Rajalingham, commercial account manager with Envision Business Services, said the credit union believes that successful local businesses are at the heart of thriving communities.
“That's why we work so hard to provide the tools, personalized service and local expertise to help small business owners realize success,” Rajalingham said.
Gibson said if it wasn't for Envision Financial, her chocolate shop, where the specialty is combining chocolate and coffee beans, would not have gotten off the ground.
“They believed in me, and they believed in my business; I couldn't find that anywhere else,” she explained. “Without their support and step-by-step guidance I wouldn't be here today. Fast forward one year and it's so much better. I can honestly say that Envision Financial made my dream come true.”
Valley West, another division of First West CU, which has approximately $6.6 billion in assets under administration, recently spotlighted its efforts to help another Canada-based business. The owner of a mobile food eatery was able to get his business off and running thanks to a micro loan from Valley West.
Complete your profile to continue reading and get FREE access to CUTimes.com, part of your ALM digital membership.
Your access to unlimited CUTimes.com content isn’t changing.
Once you are an ALM digital member, you’ll receive:
- Breaking credit union news and analysis, on-site and via our newsletters and custom alerts
- Weekly Shared Accounts podcast featuring exclusive interviews with industry leaders
- Educational webcasts, white papers, and ebooks from industry thought leaders
- Critical coverage of the commercial real estate and financial advisory markets on our other ALM sites, GlobeSt.com and ThinkAdvisor.com
Already have an account? Sign In Now
© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
