Interest-free loans for entrepreneurship from Community Futures Yellowhead East “atremendous opportunity” for area youth

Canada’s unemployment rate has steadily risen, hitting its highest point since October of 2021
in May of this year, reaching 6.2 percent. It’s also just over one percent point since April last
year. Employment rates for students and youth have been declining, taking some of the biggest
hits. Before the pandemic, the youth employment rate was 58.2 percent. In May, the rate was
recorded at 55.6 percent, meaning fewer youth are employed now than in 2019.
In its Proof Point Report published in January of this year, RBC touched on the issues facing
youth and students, saying longer job searches for students and new grads are a significant
factor behind the country’s unemployment rate, even more than layoffs or new arrivals from
abroad. RBC’s January Proof Point, written by Carrie Freestone and Rachel Battaglia, also
pointed out that they expected unemployment to grow through the first half of the year, and they
were right.
To try and help youth see a different path into the workforce, Community Futures Yellowhead
East is focusing on growing entrepreneurs by providing a unique learning environment that can
walk youth through the steps of starting their own businesses. “The whole idea behind it is to
start introducing the idea of entrepreneurship at a younger age. There are many people out
there who perhaps don’t see themselves going on to post-secondary education, so this is an
opportunity that they can turn into a career moving forward,” explained Michelle Jones,
Executive Director for Community Futures Yellowhead East (CFYE).
The Youth and Student Business Loans program has two parts, one for students between the
ages of 15-24 and another for youth between 15 and 34. The board at CFYE decided several
years ago to invest money into the region’s youth and provide unsecured loans with no
application fee, no security required and zero percent interest.
“We see a need, even more than ever before, especially this summer with the number of youths
indicating that they cannot find employment. I think that because of the increasing population,
many of the jobs previously filled by youth are now filled by others. So, we felt that it was really
valuable to promote these programs this summer,” explained Jones. “If you are one of those
students or youths and you are struggling to find a job, we can help you look at what kind of
things you are interested in or qualified in and see if we can flush out an idea that can turn into a
business,” she added.
Student Business Loans from CFYE are up to $5,000 for a 1–2-year term. Students under 18
need parental consent. Of the two loan types, this one has the lowest amount. “It is more about
students that want to start a part-time or seasonal business. They have to prove they are
registered in school to get this loan. It’s a smaller amount because they are still in school, and it
would be part-time,” said Jones.
For youth not in school and between the ages of 15 and 34, the loan increases to $15,000 for a
three-year term. “It is for youth who want to start, expand or purchase a business. They have to
have 50.1 percent ownership of the company. If they are within that, they can borrow up to
fifteen thousand dollars, and it’s the same thing as the Student Program with no interest,
application fee or security required. We work with them to develop a business plan and some

cash flow projections and then continue to coach them throughout the duration of the loan,”
explained Jones.
She said learning about entrepreneurship at a young age gives youth valuable life skills,
regardless of whether they continue in the entrepreneur role. “The skillsets that an entrepreneur
develops are second to none. They learn to be creative, to look at their hobbies and skill sets
and how to put them to work and get paid to do what they like. They learn to budget, negotiate,
speak to the public and deal with the public, trying to get business and making marketing plans.”
She said she hopes parents and guardians share the information with the youth to help spread
the word so that more take advantage of the opportunity. “They know that kids are struggling
and having difficulty finding jobs, so passing this information on is beneficial. If they want more
information, please call our office, and we will sit down with them for an intake meeting and chat
about some business ideas. If it looks like something they could do, we will walk them through
it.”
Youth and students must be Canadian citizens or permanent residents to take part. “We try to
set them up as successfully as possible so that they are not only starting a business but also
making sales and revenue. We talk to them about expenses and how to price their product or
service. It is a lot of valuable skills that are not necessarily taught any longer for numerous
reasons. We feel that the more you can start to introduce entrepreneurship in youth and at a
younger age and keep reinforcing it over and over again, it becomes an option and an
opportunity for students because not everybody is a scholastic genius, but perhaps they have
skillsets of being an entrepreneur,” said Jones.
Both programs are unique to CFYE and will not be found elsewhere, especially the one-on-one
coaching that Community Futures is becoming more known for. “Normally, we are not allowed to
do this (offer zero percent interest) because we are not in competition with the banks. But this is
directly focused on encouraging more youth to come forward or even consider the idea of
entrepreneurship.”
Jones said people often think they are unqualified for entrepreneurship, and the thought of
doing it scares them. “It is not nearly as scary as people think, and the staff at CFYE are ready
to help. So far, the ones we have given funding to have been terrific, and the success has been
great. I anticipate it growing more as we continue to make the public aware. There are so many
opportunities. I think it is a win-win!”
The Community Futures Yellowhead East office is located at Unit #1, 5023 – 50 Ave, down from
Family Dental Health. Call the office at 780-706-3500, Monday-Friday, 8:30 am-4:30 pm.