Chamber News

During the ongoing economic devastation of COVID-19, Small Business Enterprise Centres (SBECs) across Ontario provided additional support, resources and training to help entrepreneurs pivot, recover and grow their small businesses.

Through funding from the Ontario Government under the Ontario Together Fund initiative, the Quinte Small Business Centre has helped an additional 41 area small businesses access resources that were previously not available to them due to lack of financial support.

The Small Business Centre (SBC) has used the funds to provide direct access to industry experts in the fields of accounting, legal, marketing, and web development.
“With lots of unpredictability on the horizon, what we did know is that small businesses had specific needs and lots of questions.”, says Luc Fournier, Small Business Counsellor with SBC. “We knew many businesses needed a better online presence to accommodate the new pandemic climate hence the web development and marketing. But we also knew they had lots of questions about navigating the new financial challenges brought on by some of the government financial supports being offered.”

The Quinte SBC continues to provide business advisory services, subject-matter expert webinars and free e-learning sessions, all while the province-wide network of localized business advisory centres launched a comprehensive outreach campaign to support small business owners during COVID and beyond.

“SBC Ontario, of which Quinte SBC is a part of, has pushed to let the small businesses of Ontario know they are here for them with any and all supports they need.”, says Executive Director Amber Darling. “Access to this new one-time funding has allowed SBC to offer specialized support related specifically to COVID 19 challenges businesses face and bring them up to date on some very important details.”

The Small Business Centre offers supports to all businesses over and above the grant programs as well. Even if a business is not eligible for a grant they still have access to our full spectrum of resources and supports that are available year-round.

The Starter Company Plus grant is funded by the Government of Ontario through the Ministry of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade in support of small businesses in the Province of Ontario. The Digital Marketing Enhancement grant is funded by the SBC Ontario Network.

The 2021 information and more details can be found at www.smallbusinessctr.com.