Over the last 12 months, Atlantic Canadian businesses, including high-growth ventures like TruLeaf Sustainable Agriculture, have received over $140 million in financing from the Business Development Bank of Canada.

The money is part of the bank’s two-year financing package for the region’s small and mid-sized businesses.  The program has led to over 449 transactions since it was announced in May 2017, BDC said yesterday in a press release.

The bank plans to provide $280 million in financing over two years in order to assist companies that work in four industries: ICT; agri-food; ocean technology and tourism.

“This package supports the Atlantic Growth Strategy and is just one of the ways we are creating opportunities for innovation and growth in Atlantic Canada’s economy,” said Gina Gale, Senior Vice President, Atlantic at BDC.

The release said BDC’s Atlantic Growth Envelope has helped SMEs in all four Atlantic provinces. Some of the companies helped include:

* Anchor Inn Hotel & Suites: BDC gave the hotel financing to increase its number of rooms in order to take advantage of an increase in tourism in Twillingate, the iceberg capital of Newfoundland.

* TruLeaf Sustainable Agriculture: BDC provided the Halifax-based vertical farming company with financing to expand their operations into Ontario through the construction of a new facility in Guelph.

* Mrs. Dunster's: BDC provided Mrs. Dunster’s bakery, based in Sussex, NB, with financing to support continued expansion.

BDC’s $280-million financing commitment for Atlantic Canada represented a $100-million increase in the bank’s normal lending volume for the targeted industries, the bank’s release stated.

The initiative is focused on supporting growing companies, including those pursuing acquisitions, change of ownership transactions and investment in export strategies.

Disclosure: BDC Capital is a client of Entrevestor.