Note: The information in brackets describes the visual and audio content of the video, and the rest of the text corresponds to the dialogue.

[Music]

[Image on screen: Inside the distillery, Joël Pelletier turns toward his business partner, Jean-François Cloutier.]

[Text on screen: DESJARDINS MICROCREDIT TO BUSINESSES]

[Text on screen: Jean-François Cloutier and Joël Pelletier, Distillerie du St. Laurent]

[Image on screen: Joël Pelletier and Jean-François Cloutier stand together. Joël Pelletier speaks.]

Joël Pelletier: Distillerie du St. Laurent is the product of our friendship and a shared love for spirits.

[Image on screen: Jean-François Cloutier speaks and a picture of their product label is shown.]

Jean-François Cloutier: We've got a gin people seem to like. We're pretty proud.

[Image on screen: In a specialty grocery store, Khadija El Bouhali prepares a couscous dish and begins to tell her story. Her Cousmos products are shown.]

[Text on screen: Khadija El Bouhali, Cousmos]

Khadija El Bouhali: Cousmos is a food preparation business that offers prepared couscous dishes.

[Image on screen: Joël Pelletier and Jean-François Cloutier chat together. Joël Pelletier speaks.]

Joël Pelletier: Financial support at the beginning is very important and very much appreciated.

[Image on screen: Khadija El Bouhali sits and speaks. She then continues preparing her couscous dish.]

Khadija El Bouhali: There's a lot of investment that goes in at the very beginning, and you're not even on the map. You have no story yet. That's where Desjardins Microcredit came in. If I hadn't had them, I wouldn't have had other investors. Without my other investors, I never would have been able to get this business off the ground.

[Image on screen: Joël Pelletier checks something, Jean-François Cloutier watches their gin being poured and Joël Pelletier speaks.]

Joël Pelletier: Even though it wasn't a huge loan, it made the difference between launching our business modestly and not launching it at all.

[Image on screen: Joël Pelletier and Jean-François Cloutier discuss something in the warehouse.]

Joël Pelletier: If you can persevere and really give it your all, you can do it. You can create something really amazing.

[Image on screen: Jean-François Cloutier speaks as both men stand behind boxes of their product.]

Jean-François Cloutier: We had some very humble beginnings, but we got to where we originally wanted to be.

[Image on screen: Cousmos products, Khadija El Bouhali looks into the camera and speaks]

Khadija El Bouhali: I have my own brand today. It's a huge accomplishment for me. Three years ago, I wouldn't have believed this was possible.

[Music]

[Text on screen: The Desjardins Microcredit to Businesses program is offered in partnership with several community credit organizations.]

[Text on screen: Animated Desjardins logo with music]

END OF TRANSCRIPT