Since the creation of PME MTL Centre-Ouest, our team has made it a point of honour to support the projects of social economy enterprises. Whether it's strategic or financial support, we have been privileged witnesses to the enthusiasm for this collective business model. In this Social Economy Month, we wanted to talk about projects that have been stimulating our territory since their creation!
GUEPE
Make nature accessible to all.
Present on the Montréal scene since 1991, GUEPE offers diversified educational services in natural sciences and the environment through fun family activities.
GUEPE's mission: Highlight the richness of urban natural environments. To do so, the organization has developed numerous projects focused on sustainable development, environmental education and climate change.
For more than 25 years, GUEPE has also had the mission to produce and animate a four-season program for the general public and families in the City of Montréal's nature park network.
Faced with the pandemic, GUEPE has had to readapt its business model to pursue its mission by developing digital activities & workshops.
Coop Belvédère
At Belvédère, there are no workers. There are no customers. There are only members!
Since March 2014, Coop Belvédère has been offering "turnkey" communication services to various businesses, unions and non-profit organizations.
The cooperative actively contributes to Québec's socioeconomic development by offering a complete range of services that meet all the communication needs of businesses. Belvédère is the largest communication and advertising cooperative in Québec.
Whether it's designing a website or developing an advertising campaign (among other things), the Belvédère Cooperative team is constantly looking for the most original and innovative concepts to highlight the social economy businesses that come to them!
Learn more about Coop Belvédère
La Centrale Agricole
Urban agricultural enterprises play a role in the ecological transition of cities.
Unique in it’s genre, La Centrale is the first incubator and accelerator dedicated to urban agriculture projects in Montréal.
Inaugurated in 2019, it plays a fundamental role for urban agricultural producers, regardless of their stage of development.
La Centrale provides its members with three floors of private and collective space dedicated to innovation and experimentation. La Centrale Agricole is shaking up the ecosystem of urban agriculture by providing suitable production spaces and encouraging trade and the sharing of resources among its members.
Learn more about La Centrale Agricole
La Corbeille
Canada is the only G8 country that does not offer a school feeding program.
La Corbeille strives to meet the needs of its community via two complimentary missions. It created a community grocery store, le magasin d’Émilie, to serve the most underprivileged people in the the Bordeaux-Cartierville neighbourhood. La Corbeille offers a food counter that respects cultural preferences. Supported by the local school boards, La Corbeille also serves meals to children in the area's elementary schools.
Nearly 75% of the participants found a job at the end of their course.
The second program, le Festigoût, is an active restaurant and employment training center in the food service industry. The program is geared towards the social and professional integration of people in situations of exclusion. La Corbeille offers a gateway to the job market, training or other alternatives. Accredited and recognized since 2001 by Emploi-Québec, La Corbeille achieves its objectives every year: return to work or studies for its participating staff!
Communautique
For 21 years, Communautique has been working to democratize access to technologies with a focus on sustainable economic and social development. Its mission and activities are based on three areas of intervention : training, awareness and citizen mobilization, and digital manufacturing.
For the past 8 years, Communautique has strategically oriented its activities to develop its expertise and strengthen its positioning in the digital manufacturing sector. Forerunner in digital manufacturing labs in Québec, in 2011 the organization opened the first Lab in Canada: L'Écho Fab.
Communautique is a hotspot for students, artists, entrepreneurs, designers and do-it-yourselfers (of all ages) to meet and exchange about digital technologies. They share their knowledge and turn their ideas into reality!
Learn more about Communautique
PME MTL Centre-Ouest has financed more than 51 social economy projects since its creation. There are too many to list here, but we thank them warmly for everything they have taught us!