Huron East to Launch Digital Main Street Service Squad

$20,000 Digital Main Street Grant will help main street businesses improve online presence.

October 5^th, 2019: Seaforth, Ontario.The Municipality of Huron East today announced that they have received a $20,000 grant from Digital Main Street (DMS) to fund a Digital Service Squad (DSS) to help main street small businesses in the communities of Huron East improve their online capabilities. The program will be launched at a special event, Wine & Cheese Toasting Digging Digital, on the evening of Friday, October 18^that the Seaforth Golf Club. Details will be issued later in October.

Huron East received the grant from the Ontario government as part of the Digital Main Street initiative to help small businesses in Huron East's community cores to enhance their use of digital tools and techniques to better evolve and grow. The Squad will consist of one trained specialist and several support staff, who will visit and assist businesses at no cost, to help them set up Google Business, conduct a digital-readiness assessment and apply for a $2,500 Digital Transformation Grant.  The Squad will start visiting businesses on October 5^th, 2019. 

Over the past decade, the Ontario BIA Association has supported communities throughout the Municipality of Huron East with the delivery of countless innovative and proactive business initiatives, said Economic Development Officer Jan Hawley. The Digital Main Street program is no exception, illustrating how provincial partnerships working together can strengthen the business environment through improved communication, and help build the foundation for a more prosperous economy. For that reason alone, we are extremely grateful. 

A joint program funded by the Government of Ontario and delivered by the Ontario BIA Association, Digital Main Street helps improve how small main street businesses use digital tools and techniques to become more successful. Today's digital economy is vital to small businesses, and DMS will help them adopt new digital technologies from e-commerce and social media to back-office systems such as payroll and inventory. 

Our government is committed to helping small businesses improve their competitiveness, create jobs and attract investment, said Ernie Hardeman, Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. That's why I'm so pleased that businesses in Huron East will benefit from the expertise of a Digital Service Squad to help small businesses embrace digital technology.  Our investment in the Digital Main Street program will help to ensure that Ontario is open for business and open for jobs.

The Digital Service Squad in the Municipality of Huron East will help local businesses gain the expertise necessary to compete in the digital environment, said Lisa Thompson, MPP for Huron-Bruce. The training they'll receive will help provide them with the tools and opportunity to expand their customer base using the convenience of digital technology.

Digital Main Street offers two types of grants: 

1. Digital Transformation Grant: There are 2,000 grants of $2,500 each available to qualifying small main street businesses across Ontario to help them adopt new digital technologies. 

• Digital Service Squad Grant: There are 300 grants of $10,000 each available to qualifying municipal or business groups across Ontario to develop and implement local squads of digital vendors and experts to directly help small businesses. 

We are always excited when municipalities take advantage of Digital Main Street on behalf of the downtown cores of their communities. Huron East clearly understands the importance of digital technology and the power of Digital Main Street to help keep their main streets vibrant and strong, said Kay Matthews, Executive Director of the Ontario BIA Association. Our small main street businesses are a critical contributor to Ontario's economic, social and cultural health, and it's vital that we work together to ensure their success. Digital Main Street will help the small downtown businesses in Huron East compete in an increasingly digital world.

Businesses within the downtown areas will be introduced to the Digital Service Squad in the next several weeks. For further information contact Jan Hawley at 519.527.0160 x36 or jhawley@huroneast.com 

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ABOUT the Municipality of Huron East

The Municipality of Huron East, a short drive from the shores of Lake Huron, embodies three historic settlements surrounded by productive agricultural lands. The Town of Seaforth, the largest of its urban centres, is unique in the fact that it is one of the oldest heritage conservation districts in Ontario with a vibrant downtown core.  In 2008, the municipality took a more active role in the development of its local economy by engaging a full-time economic development officer. Since then, the profile of the community has been heightened through the execution and promotion of award-winning economic development initiatives. Huron East continues to lead by example throughout rural Ontario.

ABOUT the Ontario BIA Association

OBIAA is the network that represents unique and vibrant BIAs across Ontario. The Association supports and advocates on behalf of its members through the building and nurturing of strong relationships and partnerships. OBIAA is a leader in the development and sharing of information, tools, resources and best practices, and is the ONE voice on common issues.

ABOUT Digital Main Street

Digital Main Street is an innovative program designed to help main street small businesses achieve digital transformation. The program is built around an online learning platform, structured training programs, grants and Digital Service Squad teams of street-level experts that help main street small businesses manage and grow their operations through technology adoption.  The program was originally created by the Toronto Association of BIAs (TABIA) and a group of strategic partners including Google, MasterCard, Rogers, Microsoft and Shopify.  The Province of Ontario expansion of Digital Main Street is funded by the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs and delivered by the Ontario BIA Association.  The Ontario expansion is part of the government's $12 million Main Street Enhancement Initiative to create jobs and support communities across the province.  For more information, please visit digitalmainstreet.ca

MEDIA & PROGRAM CONTACT: 

Jan Hawley

Economic Development Officer

Municipality of Huron East 

jhawley@huroneast.com

519.527.0160 x36