In 2006, Zita Cobb and two of her brothers, Alan and Tony, native Newfoundlanders, launched Shorefast to help grow another leg of Fogo Island's economy. This Harvard Business School case examines how this non-profit organisation has addressed economic decline in rural Newfoundland following the 1992 Canadian cod moratorium. Through initiatives like the Fogo Island Inn, Shorefast demonstrates place-based development strategies. The study explores how the organisation's founders are considering ways to apply their experience toward broader conversations about sustainable economies and reimagining capitalism globally. source
Scene
“In 2006, Zita Cobb and two of her brothers, Alan Cobb and Tony Cobb, native Newfoundlanders, launched Shorefast to help grow another leg of Fogo Island's economy. Like so many rural communities, Fogo Island's fate was tied directly to one primary resource — in this case cod. For centuries, Fogo Islanders made their living by fishing and trading cod, but by 1992, the Canadian government put a moratorium on the limited stocks left, forcing many rural Newfoundlanders and Labradorians to move to larger centers in search of new employment.”
Case opening, HBS 320-098 (April 2020, rev. May 2025)
Brian Trelstad, Wendy Smith, and Natalie Slawinski, 'Shorefast: A Strange and Familiar Way to Reimagine Capitalism,' Harvard Business School Case 320-098 (2020); verbatim opening republished on the HBS Faculty & Research page — source
Places
- AboutFogo Island Inn↗
HBS case study by Trelstad, Smith, and Slawinski (2020, rev. 2025) anchored to Shorefast's Fogo Island Inn / Joe Batt's Arm operation.
Brian Trelstad, Wendy Smith, and Natalie Slawinski, 'Shorefast: A Strange and Familiar Way to Reimagine Capitalism,' Harvard Business School Case 320-098 (2020) — source
