Alberta invests $10 M to help small businesses go digital and support e-commerce

EDMONTON -

A new program will help Alberta small businesses create a digital presence and support their ability to conduct e-commerce.

The province will invest $10 million over two years to finance the Digital Economy Program, giving businesses coaching on how to create a digital store, as well as how to market and maintain it. The provincial funding will be supplemented by a $3 million federal commitment from the department of Prairies Economic Development.

Business Link, an Alberta non-profit that assists small business owners and entrepreneurs, will administer the two-part program in partnership with the Digital Main Street ShopHERE initiative powered by Google.

The first part of the program allows small businesses the opportunities to create or configure an online store, train employees on how to manage an online marketplace, and give advice on marketing the store.

Participants will receive a Shopify 90-day free trial, a $50 advertising credit for Facebook, and a free .ca web domain.

Businesses with 50 or fewer employees and a valid Alberta business number are eligible to participate in the initiative. To get started, owners can apply on Digital Main Street's website. 

The second part of the program, the Digital Service Squad Grant, provides funding to hire Alberta post-secondary students or recent graduates to regional digital service support organizations.

The digital service support organizations will provide technical support to participating businesses in their region for free to help them create digital strategies, Google My Business assistance, social media marketing, and more.

According to the government, this part of the Digital Economy Program will not only help employ recent grads or post-secondary students, but it will also help businesses through one-on-one support to increase their technology skills.

Clinton Senkow, vice-chair of Business Link, anticipates the Digital Economy Program will help more than 5,000 small businesses across the province.

HELPS ALBERTA'S DIGITAL ECONOMY: MINISTER OF JOBS

Doug Schweitzer, minister of jobs, economy, and innovation, said it can be a daunting task for a business to set up and maintain a digital store.

“You have major international players that are continuing to provide further services and different advancements,” Schweitzer said. “We want to make sure small businesses across Alberta have a chance to compete and make sure that they can keep up with it.”

“More rural businesses will now be able to create a digital presence or improve an existing one,” said Nate Horner, associate minister of rural economic development.

“Ensuring that rural, remote, and Indigenous communities are part of the digital economy means we can build, create, and diversify jobs and business opportunities to every corner of Alberta.”

According to the province, small businesses employ more than 623,000 Albertans and account for more than 98 per cent of all businesses, including nearly 45 per cent of private-sector employment.

“Small business represents considerable diversity and is a key driver of local economies,” said Jeffrey Sundquist, Edmonton Chamber of Commerce president and CEO, in a statement. “This initiative can provide more small businesses with an essential online presence and is an innovative way to share digital knowledge as part of an inclusive economic recovery.”

'TOO LITTLE, TOO LATE': OFFICIAL OPPOSITION

Deron Bilous, NDP economic development and innovation critic, said in a statement that the funding to help businesses develop their online marketplaces would have been more helpful at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Once again, the UCP government’s pandemic response is too little, too late,” Bilous said. “It took the UCP over a year and a half to provide this support to struggling businesses.

“On top of this, many small businesses still haven’t received the financial support they were promised up to six months ago, and the UCP still hasn’t acted on capping fees for third-party delivery apps,” Bilous added.