2020 results : PME MTL granted nearly $110 million to Montréal businesses

PME MTL, the City of Montréal's business support network, today presents its retrospective of the year 2020, an unprecedented year for entrepreneurs in the city. PME MTL supported more than 4,600 businesses and its interventions helped create or maintain 7,400 jobs. Moreover, as soon as the pandemic began, targeted measures and programs were quickly put in place to support the greatest number of businesses in difficulty. In total, thanks to agreements with the federal and provincial governments as well as the City of Montréal, PME MTL has granted close to $110 million in business assistance funds, both from emergency assistance programs in the context of the pandemic ($88.3 million) and from regular funds ($19.9 million).

"The City of Montréal and PME MTL mobilized their forces in March 2020 to support Montréal businesses, and we will continue to do so,” said Luc Rabouin, who is responsible for economic and commercial development and design on the Executive Committee of the City of Montréal. “The year 2020 has been very difficult for many of our entrepreneurs, but they have been able to adapt and be creative during this critical period. I salute the resilience and agility of the city's entrepreneurs and I thank all the PME MTL teams for their commitment and professionalism. From the perspective of a green and inclusive recovery, I also believe that we must strengthen the role of PME MTL in mobilizing local players and supporting structuring projects to ensure that no one and no neighbourhood is left behind."

With COVID-19, the regular PME MTL programs have been supplemented by emergency assistance funds that have been used in whole or in part to date. These include the federal government's $30 million Regional Recovery and Assistance Fund, the Québec government's $70 million Emergency Assistance for Small and Medium-Sized Businesses (PAUPME) program, and the City of Montréal's two funds, the Fonds temporaire de consolidation des activités commerciales (temporary fund for the consolidation of business activities) of $2 million and the $1.7 million enhanced Fonds de développement de l’économie sociale (social economy development fund).

"In 2020, the PME MTL network has increased the amounts granted to Montréal businesses fivefold compared to 2019,” said the executive directors of the six service centres of PME MTL, Annie Bourgoin, Marie-Claude Dauray, Jean François Lalonde, Christian Perron, Marc-André Perron and Nicolas Roy. “Our team of 140 experts has worked tirelessly with entrepreneurs to offer them support and find the best financing solutions adapted to their situation. Beyond financing, our organizations play an essential role in accelerating the projects of Montréal SMEs thanks to our in-depth understanding of the city's issues and our expertise in the field. Our comprehensive service offering puts us in a good position to contribute to a sustainable economic recovery in which entrepreneurs will play a key role."

Highlights of the year 2020

• More than $19.9 million was awarded to businesses through PME MTL's regular investment funds.
• More than 4,600 businesses were supported by our team of experts, allowing the maintenance or creation of nearly 7,400 jobs.
• 3 emergency assistance programs, for a total of $88.3 million granted to businesses
  • Within the framework of the federal assistance program, $26 million was granted to support 716 business projects.
  • Within the framework of the provincial assistance program, more than $59 million was granted through the PAUPME, supporting 1,377 business projects.
  • As part of the City's subsidy fund, more than $3.2 million was granted through the COVID 19 Fonds de consolidation des activités commerciales (temporary fund for the consolidation of business activities), supporting 389 businesses.
• The social economy development fund financed 173 projects, for a total of nearly $3.1 million.
• More than $27 million in emergency funds were granted in 2020 to support businesses in downtown Montréal, in addition to the $6.8 million invested through the traditional investment funds of PME MTL.

See our 2020 annual results (in French only) →

About PME MTL

PME MTL is a support network for businesses in Ville de Montréal that provides a range of professional services to entrepreneurs from the private sector and the social economy located on the Island of Montréal. It is a key player in supporting the launch and growth of SMEs, and guiding entrepreneurs with expert management advice and the provision of funding. PME MTL acts as a true catalyst in developing entrepreneurship, working hand-in-hand with a vast network of partners and bringing together entrepreneurs with various experts, stakeholders, program managers and financial assistance.