Transcript: The CIBC Memento Project — Mohammed's story

[Mohammed walks into a cab stand. He looks around and takes it all in. He touches the handle of a cab door.]

>>Mohammed: While I was driving a cab, I was thinking about the business I wanted to develop.

This is where my journey started.

[We see the dashboard of a taxi. Mohammed’s license is in the holder. A super appears: How did a taxi license help drive a dream? A hand appears and pulls Mohammed’s license out of the holder. The CIBC Memento Project logo appears behind it.]

[Mohammed walks through a laneway near his old apartment building.]

>>Mohammed: The day I landed, I had only $350 in my pocket.

[Mohammed appears in front of his old apartment building. A super appears: Mohammed Anwar, CEO, Merit Services Ltd.]

>>Mohammed: I was going around trying to find a job. It was very difficult.

[Mohammed points up at a balcony.]

>>Mohammed: This is my apartment on the fourth floor.

[Mohammed appears in front of the building again.]

>>Mohammed: That was the first thing I had in Canada here, my own apartment.

[Mohammed hails a cab and climbs in.]

>>Mohammed: When I was driving a cab, I was thinking about my future. I wanted to start my business.

[Mohammed pulls a phone from his pocket and makes a call.]

>>Mohammed: So, I walk into CIBC and they introduced me to Vaishali.

[Mohammed greets Vaishali at the door and shakes her hand. Together they walk to his office.]

>>Mohammed: She understood my issues, my concerns.

[Mohammed stands in front of his desk.]

>>Mohammed: She asked me, “What do you do for a living?”

I’m running a small entrepreneurial business. I’m helping Canadians to find their dream job.

[Vaishali sits on the couch and addresses Mohammed off screen.]

>>Vaishali: I realized that you had a good business and you had so many dreams to be fulfilled.

[A super appears: Vaishali Padhye, CIBC Advisor]

[Mohammed stands in front of his desk and gestures with his hands.]

>>Mohammed: The struggle I went through, I do not want newcomers to go through the same path.

[Mohammed and Vaishali sit on the couches in Mohammed’s sunlit office. They look at each other and smile.]

>>Mohammed: Money is not my first priority. Making a difference, that is important. Vaishali helped my business thrive.

[Vaishali smiles broadly.]

>>Mohammed: My parents taught me: When there is no door, build a door.

[Mohammed faces the camera and holds up his cab license for the camera. He smiles.]

[The red background fades in and a super appears:

Ambitions made real™

The CIBC logo and “Ambitions made real” are trademarks of CIBC.]