A number of support groups for youth business initiatives were set up in 1985. The directors of these services (forerunners of the SAJEs) had no idea of the significance of their actions or the scope of the adventure they were beginning. The road they travelled was not without pitfalls. In two decades, the SAJE model has undergone many transformations and faced many challenges while continuing to provide aspiring entrepreneurs with the same excellent service. In general, it has been very successful, both in terms of policy and economics and in promoting a positive perception of entrepreneurship.

SAJE owes its existence to the famous International Year of Youth. A number of proposals were put forward to help young people create their own jobs. Several financial partners and community stakeholders worked together to establish organizations to support youth initiatives (Organismes de soutien aux initiatives jeunesse or OSIJ), which are business start-up assistance groups.

From the very beginning, these groups adopted a clear mission: to develop business expertise in order to offer future entrepreneurs made-to-measure business consulting services.

For ten years, OSIJs sprang up across Quebec. At the peak, there were 107 of them, serving every region of the province, their very numbers attesting to their value and importance.

In 1995, ten years after its creation, after the SAJE model had earned its stripes, a new need arose: ensuring the survival of these fledgling businesses. It was decided at that time to bring together all of the OSIJs under the name Association des SAJE du Québec (ASAJEQ). This new association then created a follow-up centre offering growth management services specifically adapted for new businesses. It soon became clear that the new business survival rate was better wherever this follow-up service was provided by the SAJEs.

The success was so overwhelming that the SAJEs decided to combine their resources to provide an even higher quality of service. It was this that really set in motion the amalgamation of the Montreal SAJEs. In 1997, their budgets, resources and workforces were merged to create SAJE Montréal Métro.

In 1998, the government of Quebec created Local Development Centres (Centres locaux de développement or CLDs) to offer a single-window approach for entrepreneurial programs and social economy projects. Designed as part of the new local and regional development policy developed by the Secrétariat aux régions, the CLDs absorbed existing entrepreneurial assistance organizations, include the OSIJ network.

In Montreal things unfolded differently, however. The critical mass of clients and resources, the mobility of entrepreneurs and the expertise acquired over the years by the SAJEs were all contributing factors in the decision to allow Montreal to maintain its existing structures.

In 20 years, the SAJE model has contributed to the start-up 18,542 businesses, creating nearly 40,000 jobs with projected investments of over $800 million.

With a feeling of pride tinged with nostalgia, Ms. Lucie Demers, former executive director and chair of the SAJE (Montréal Métro) board, summed it up like this: “The SAJE is a unique model, occasionally stymied by a lack of means, but always an extraordinarily creative space. It is incredible how far we’ve come in 20 years. The SAJE is an organization of great depth.” And what about the next 20 years? “The best is yet to come!”