For immediate release
Press release

Launch of the Desjardins-AMCGÎM Youth Entrepreneurship Fund

Maria, October 6, 2025 – As a key player in the economic development of the Gaspé Peninsula and the Magdalen Islands, Accès Microcrédit Gaspésie-Îles-de-la-Madeleine (AMCGÎM) strives to provide everyone with the means to start a business. Whether through tailored technical support or flexible and accessible financing options, AMCGÎM is constantly working to find solutions to the obstacles faced by local self-employed workers and small businesses.

With this goal in mind, and with the valuable support of the Caisses Desjardins de la Gaspésie et des Îles-de-la-Madeleine and the collaboration of the region’s Carrefours jeunesse-emploi (CJE), our organization is launching the Desjardins-AMCGÎM Youth Entrepreneurship Fund (YEF), a fund designed to support young entrepreneurs with ambitious business plans. The YEF seeks to provide young people aged 16 to 20 with serious and viable entrepreneurial projects with the tools they need to bring their ideas to fruition, in terms of technical, human, and financial aspects.

Thanks to close collaboration between AMCGÎM, youth employment centers, and the Caisses Desjardins de la Gaspésie et des Îles, the initiative is able to offer comprehensive support to young entrepreneurs. This permanent fund, totaling $36,000, is the result of a valuable financial contribution from the region’s Caisses Desjardins and AMCGÎM. Combined with close and mandatory technical entrepreneurial support provided by AMCGÎM and ongoing guidance from the CJE in terms of interpersonal skills and social and professional aptitudes, the result is an offer that can help an enterprising young person achieve their dream.

Specifically, the YEF offers financing of up to $3,000 in loans to young entrepreneurs at a low interest rate of 5% and a repayment period of up to 36 months. In addition, AMCGIM offers an additional subsidy of up to 25% of the loan amount, for a maximum financial support of $3,750. It should be noted that for 16- and 17-year-olds, a parent’s guarantee is required. Whether it’s to start a small summer business or to sow the seeds of a larger project, the YEF is there to help young people in Gaspésie and Magdalen Islands turn their dreams into reality.

About Accès Microcrédit Gaspésie-Îles-de-la-Madeleine

AMCGÎM is a unique intermediary that enables the local community to support its entrepreneurial community. It offers technical support and flexible, accessible financing of up to $20,000 per entrepreneur. Since its creation in 2005, our organization has supported more than 140 promoters with loans totaling nearly $881,000, using capital from the community. In many cases, these are entrepreneurs in precarious situations who would have had difficulty obtaining the support necessary to develop their projects.

Accès Microcrédit Gaspésie-Îles-de-la-Madeleine also stands out for its expertise-sharing workshops and personalized support tailored to the needs of the entrepreneur. This support is free of charge and is not conditional on obtaining a loan from the organization. Since its creation, AMCGÎM has supported more than 450 people, whether for sporadic needs (accounting, marketing) or long-term support (business plan, financial planning, fundraising, accounting and marketing follow-up, etc.). This support increases the chances of the business’s long-term survival. These services are fully bilingual, and we have a resource specifically dedicated to English-speaking communities.

AMCGÎM is a member of the MicroEntreprendre network. Founded in 2000, MicroEntreprendre is a unique tool for economic development and poverty reduction, bringing together 20 organizations serving 17 administrative regions of Quebec.

-30-

Source :

Yan Tremblay, Executive Director
Telephone : 418-534-3834
Email : [email protected]
Website : www.amcgim.org