Vancity has launched the Unity Pivot Business Loan for small businesses who need to adapt due to COVID-19.
Loans of up to $150,000 are available to support businesses pivoting direction to support the fight against the pandemic. These will be interest free for the first six months with no payment required during the first six months either.
From garment manufacturers shifting to produce masks to local perfumeries retooling to make hand sanitizer, local business leaders are lending a hand to those on the frontlines of the pandemic. Others have had to adjust their business to new circumstances – moving their business online, for example.
The Unity Pivot Business Loan is available to all businesses that have been in existence for two years or more, who were profitable before COVID-19, and who need financing to support a shift in direction in response to the pandemic.
In addition, Vancity is offering the Unity Bridge Loan to support self-employed people impacted by COVID-19. This term loan will be offered to those who’ve been self-employed for more than two years and who have an existing business with payroll under $20,000. Individuals with no payroll are also eligible for a loan up to $10,000, available interest free for the first six months with no payment required during the first six months either. The Unity Pivot Business and Unity Bridge programs are capped at $50 million.
In partnership with the Government of Canada, Vancity is also supporting small businesses through a number of loan programs, including the Canada Emergency Business Account and Business Credit Availability Program. Since making the Canada Emergency Business Accounts available to its members, Vancity has approved $84,260,000 in total loans to 2,108 businesses.
“Vancity’s relief programs for small businesses build on the supports already in place from the provincial and federal governments. When the country gets through the worst of this pandemic, small businesses will play a significant role in helping to drive our economic recovery. Now is the time to support these businesses as they get creative and change course in efforts to meet the challenge of this pandemic head on,” said Tamara Vrooman, Vancity’s president and chief executive officer.
