We can provide and direct you to a variety of useful resources that will help you adapt your business services, sales and marketing efforts to the digital climate. The Digital Main Street programs can help you grow your digital presence.
Digital Main Street
Digital Main Street, a collaborative initiative by the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario and private partners, and delivered locally by the Small Business & Entrepreneurship Centre, offers comprehensive and free support services, training and grants to help grow your business online.
Participants can complete a free digital onboarding, receive a personalized to-do list with recommendations on how to reach your goals, and access a list of digital product and service providers who are offering exclusive discounts.
Digital Transformation Grants
Digital Main Street's Digital Transformation Grants provide qualifying brick-and-mortar small businesses with a digital assessment, online training and a one-time $2,500 grant to implement their Digital Transformation Plan.
New participant requirements (as of July 19, 2021)
- Businesses must have a permanent brick-and-mortar establishment in Ontario. Businesses no longer need to be located within a zone commercial core or main street area.
- Businesses must employ between 1-50 employees.
- Businesses must not previously received a Digital Transformation Grant.
- Businesses must pay commercial tax, either directly or indirectly through their lease/rent.
ShopHERE online stores
Digital Main Street's ShopHERE program helps independent small businesses and artists by:
- Creating and configuring your own online store
- Training you to manage it
- Providing support to get your online store live
- Helping to market your online store
Eligible participants include businesses with under 10 full-time employees (25 if a restaurant), must be registered in Ontario, can be a business or artist, and can be a home based or commercial business.
Digital Service Squad
Since 2019, the Small Business & Entrepreneurship Centre has provided Digital Main Street program supports to hundreds of businesses in Windsor and Essex County through its Digital Service Squad. The Digital Service Squad provides businesses with free digital transformation consulting and support such as:
- A digital assessment of your business’ digital literacy
- Access to a free online video-based digital transformation training program
- Website – review, updating, creation, best practices
- Social Media – support, best practices, advertising, and more
- Technology – support and guidance for the best options of technology tools to implement for your business
- Miscellaneous digital transformation support – loyalty programs, point of sale systems, e-commerce, back-end business operations support