Digital Transformation Grant for Brick-and-Mortar Small Businesses

The program will provide training, advisory support and grants to brick-and-mortar small businesses looking to increase their capacity through digital transformation.

Objectives

The objectives of the Digital Main Street – Digital Transformation Grant program are to:

• Support brick-and mortar small businesses through access to an online assessment to determine the digital needs of their business.
• Provide resources to assist eligible brick-and-mortar small businesses with the execution of their DTP ($2,500 grant).
• Knowledge transfer through an online training course that provides the basics of how digital technology will transform their business for success and equips business owners with the digital literacy skills needed to develop a Digital Transformation Plan (DTP).
• Provide small business owners a comprehensive plan to guide their digital transformation.
• Provide small businesses with the digital literacy skills they need to execute their digital transformation either through a do-it-yourself approach and/or being a smart consumer when purchasing these services.

What costs are eligible :

• Digital Marketing
  • Hiring a consultant/agency/person to execute digital marketing initiatives
• Website
  • Redesign, improvement of existing website
  • Development of new website
  • Photography/videography costs for production of photos and/or videos
  • E-commerce enablement
  • Accessibility compliance
• Software
  • Graphic design software
  • Productivity software (LastPass, Hootsuite, Dropbox, etc.)
  • Social media software (Hootsuite, Buffer, etc.) – Security software
  • Other software as indicated in the DTP
• Digital Training
  • Ongoing Digital Training courses (in-person/online)
• Hardware (limited to $1,000)
  • POS systems
  •  All hardware must be deemed necessary (as determined by OBIAA in its sole discretion).

Eligibility Criteria

• Must be a business that:
  • Has a permanent ‘brick-and-mortar’ establishment in Ontario.
  • Is employing 1-50 employees.
  • Is paying commercial property tax (commercially assessed), either directly or through commercial rent.
  • Is a registered business in Ontario and/or is incorporated.
  • Is open for business/operating at the time of application (not a start-up).
  • Is NOT a business supplying digital services to other businesses (e.g. website design/development, SEO, programming).
  • Is NOT a franchise, including those individually owned and operated.
  • Is NOT a wholesaler or manufacturer i.e., is a consumer-facing business and can be accessed by consumers or provides in-person services and/or product sales to consumers.
  • Is NOT a not-for-profit or charitable organization.
  • Is NOT renting office space on a temporary basis (month-to-month).
  • Is NOT in a shared workspace such as a hot desk or dedicated desk.
  • Is NOT a purely online business or distributor.
  • Is NOT a home-based business.
• Owned by:
  • An Ontario resident operating a business in Ontario.
  • An individual of 18 years of age or older at the time of application.
  • A Canadian citizen or permanent resident.

For more information, visit Digital Main Street.