Small Community to Small Business: Mark Sparrow

The sun dances through the window of the Cape Breton Fudge Company on Mark Sparrow’s coffee mug. Grasping his mug with both hands, Sparrow shares his plans to attend a community music festival in the coming days. In fact, Sparrow can be found at many different festivals, events and gatherings in Sydney. With a self-admitted love for community led initiatives, Sparrow is doing his part to contribute to a more vibrant culture in Cape Breton.

In his early thirties, Mark Sparrow is a resident of Sydney. He grew up in Glace Bay and didn’t venture too far from home, unless it was to part-take in cultured travel experiences. After attending Dalhousie University, Sparrow says that his decision to return from Halifax to Sydney for university was the perfect fit. It was in his time at Cape Breton University that he discovered a passion for business and community economic development.

Thriving on the instant impact that positive change can make in a small community like Sydney, Sparrow combined his appetite for social enterprise and civic service in his role at the Nova Scotia Co-operative Council.

 The Nova Scotia Co-operative Council along with participating Credit Unions across the province are offering a reliable and low-risk program to benefit new and small business owners. The Small Business Loan Guarantee Program provides assistance to start-ups and helps to expand small businesses. In providing programs like the Small Loan Guarantee, Nova Scotians are better able to create and maintain rewarding careers in their communities.

As a Business Development Officer with the Nova Scotia Co-operative Council, Mark Sparrow stresses the need for programs such as these to move Cape Breton’s economy forward. “Over the course of ten years, this program has given out $62 million in loans to help foster strong business ideas. The loss rate is less than four percent,” Sparrow explains. The Small Business Loan Guarantee is a success starter for entrepreneurs and business people alike.

Sparrow admits that one of his favorite things about living in Cape Breton is the challenge that presents itself in finding opportunity in a small region. Through both work and play, Mark Sparrow is contributing to achieving a healthy community in Sydney.

For more information on the Small Business Loan Guarantee or the Nova Scotia Co-operative Council please email [email protected]  

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