Javier's Story

Javier immigrated to Canada with his family from Colombia four years ago. In Colombia, Javier worked as the manager of a grocery store, and was also Mayor of his village. But there is much political unrest in Colombia, and the region in which Javier and his family lived had become a dangerous place. He wanted safety and stability for his family, as well as more opportunity. Friends of Javier’s already living in Canada had spoken highly of Calgary and said there was lots of work in the city. Based on their recommendation alone, Javier moved his family to Calgary. "When I arrived in Canada, I spoke no English," says Javier today. "My friends helped to find me a job, so I worked on weekends and took English courses during the week."

A person at an immigration centre told Javier about Momentum and their programs, and advised him to go and see them. Javier took the person’s advice, met with Momentum staff, and was soon enrolled in the Fair Gains program. "When I first started at Momentum, I felt a sense of community," says Javier. "It felt very good to be there and to be around these people. Plus, I learned so much about business and money management. The systems here are very different from those in Colombia, so this was very helpful for me."

After successfully completing Fair Gains, Javier enrolled in Momentum’s Self Employment Program, a course of study for people who are seriously committed to starting a small business. With the help of his instructors and facilitators, Javier decide that his business would be a commercial and residential cleaning company, because this was a type of business that was potentially profitable yet had low start-up costs (the purchase of equipment being the main cost).

After completing the Self Employment Program, Javier applied for—and received—one of Momentum’s Micro Business Loans, which enabled him to purchase the equipment he needed to start his business. "I am very grateful to Momentum for all of the opportunities they have provided," says Javier. Since starting his business, things have been going very well. Javier has since hired two additional employees, and one of his major contracts is to clean the offices of—you guessed it—Momentum!