A $25,000 grant from Digital Main Street Ontario will help businesses in the Municipality of Grey Highlands learn to use digital technologies.
A Digital Service Squad (DSS) will help small downtown businesses in and around the communities of Flesherton, Markdale, Priceville, Maxwell, Kimberley, Eugenia, Rocklyn, and Feversham.
Business owners will learn to pivot their operations to include online business models, regain lost revenue and become more resilient and competitive as the economy recovers.
“The Municipality of Grey Highlands is delighted to receive support from the province to deliver the Digital Main Street program,” said Grey Highlands Mayor Paul McQueen. “The Municipality recently approved our COVID-19 Business Recovery Action Plan and the Digital Main Street program will be foundational in supporting one of the key priorities of this Plan: building a resilient business economy that embraces the new digital marketplace and new technologies. We look forward to leveraging the impact of this funding for the betterment of our communities in Grey Highlands as we emerge from this global pandemic.”
Established in 2018, Digital Main Street Ontario was recently extended thanks to an investment of $42.5 million from the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario) and $7.45 million from the Ministry for Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade (MEDJCT). The almost $50-million investment will help small businesses across Ontario The Ontario BIA Association administers the DMS grant program to Ontario’s main street small businesses.
“Ontario’s small businesses are the backbone of our economy, and the keystone of our economic recovery. That is why we have invested in Digital Main Street to help these enterprises adapt to doing business in a digital world and take advantage of the record number of people shopping online. Congratulations to Grey Highlands on the launch of your Digital Service Squad. The work you’re doing with small businesses in your community will help keep our main streets vibrant, support good, local jobs and help our economy come back strong.” (The Honourable Mélanie Joly, Minister of Economic Development and Official Languages and Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario)
Digital Service Squads are fundamental to Digital Main Street’s design and success, with trained specialists who meet with small businesses, at no cost, to help them improve their online presence. The squads assist with a number of activities, including developing a Google My Business profile, enhancing their social media presence and providing support for basic website and e-commerce set-up. Squads will also assist qualified small businesses through the application process for a $2,500 Digital Transformation Grant, which includes an online assessment, online training modules, and the development of a Digital Transformation Plan (DTP).
“The COVID-19 pandemic hit Ontario’s main streets hard, so Digital Main Street is needed more than ever,” said Kay Matthews, Executive Director of OBIAA. “We know that businesses that participated in Digital Main Street last year were better able to cope when the pandemic hit, and we’re excited that FedDev Ontario and MEDJCT are providing the funding to extend this important program to help businesses in communities like Grey Highlands.”
