Local Digital Main Street Program Receives Additional Funding
CKXSFM Staff
The local “Digital Main Street” program helping Chatham-Kent businesses transition to online retail is receiving additional funding from the provincial and federal governments.
Mayor Darrin Canniff says the additional funding will help local businesses as they continue to rebound from the pandemic.
“We’re proud of the success of our Digital Main Street program in Chatham-Kent. I’m delighted that senior levels of government are continuing to partner with us in that effort,” says the Mayor.
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a severe impact on businesses of all sizes across the country. In particular, retail-oriented main street businesses have suffered, with stores closed and in-person commerce halted. To regain revenues, many businesses are transitioning from traditional storefronts to online stores to serve more clients and capitalize on new markets.
With Ontario’s economy reopening, the federal and provincial governments have joined together to help small businesses go digital — both to recover and generate revenue through a pan-Ontario collaborative project.
Building on Toronto’s foundational investments into Digital Main Street and, most recently, ShopHERE, the federal and provincial governments today announced a $57-million investment that will extend the support to businesses across Ontario.
This investment includes $12.2 million from the Government of Canada, through the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario) targeting support to retail, hospitality, and service businesses in Southwestern Ontario. The funds will be used to create digital service teams to help small businesses establish their online presence, implement e-commerce tools, and develop digital transformation and digital marketing plans.
The Future Proofing Main Street program will be one of three levels of support offered by the Digital Main Street Platform. Each level of support will include a program tailored to the needs of businesses from entry level to advanced level.
WEtech will work alongside its Windsor-Essex and Chatham-Kent partners including Small Business Centres, Business Improvement Associations, Economic Development organizations and Chambers of Commerce, to support the delivery of the advanced level of support.
