REGINA ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CO-OPERATIVE FOR WOMEN SBLA RECOGNIZED JOB CREATION

Minister responsible for the Status of Women Joanne Crofford, on

behalf of Economic and Co-operative Development Minister Janice

MacKinnon, today recognized the Regina Economic Development

Co-operative for Women for its job creation record through the Small

Business Loans Association (SBLA) program.



The co-operative has created 37 new jobs and maintained an additional

17 jobs. During 1998, small businesses supported by the SBLA program

created more than 360 jobs and maintained over 565 more, mostly in

rural communities. This brought the total number of jobs created and

maintained since the program began to almost 12,800.



Crofford presented a job creation certificate, on behalf of MacKinnon,

to Beth Traynor, the co-operative's chairperson.



"I am very pleased to honour Regina Economic Development Co-operative

for Women this way," Crofford said. "SBLAs are an integral part of

the province's focus on investing at the community level, working with

people to create jobs and opportunities in their own area.



"This co-operative has an outstanding record not only through its

loans to women entrepreneurs, but also in its support to home-based

businesses and in the mentoring its members have offered to Regina

businesswomen."



Examples of local businesses assisted by SBLA loans include

health-related service industries, home improvement operations

and retail businesses.



Under the SBLA program, the government provides funding to local

SBLA organizations. In turn, SBLAs provide loans to businesses

that have experienced difficulty accessing financing through

traditional means.



Improvements to the program announced in this year's provincial

budget include an increase in each SBLA's interest-free revolving

line of credit from $50,000 to $100,000. As well, an SBLA can

now make loans to a maximum of $10,000, up from $5,000.



"The job creation efforts of the Regina Economic Development

Co-operative for Women are a great example of what can be

accomplished when the government and communities work in

partnership," Crofford said. "By working in partnership, the

SBLAs are helping businesses grow -- building our economy,

creating jobs and keeping our province healthy and strong."



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For more information, contact:



Bob Ellis

Economic and Co-operative Development

Regina

Phone: (306) 787-1691