The 5-10-15 Main Street Innovation Challenge unites five regions to address businesses’ needs.
LONDON, ON. February 5, 2021 — TechAlliance of Southwestern Ontario is launching the 5-10-15 Main Street Innovation Challenge, a Digital Main Street Community Collaboration Project with regional economic development partners to support the transformation of main streets and serve the small business community struggling as a result of COVID-19.
Seeking innovative and technology-enabled solutions from Elgin, Huron, Lambton, Middlesex and Oxford counties, the 5-10-15 Main Street Innovation Challenge puts transformation for main street businesses at the centre of their solution to bring forward inclusive and disruptive approaches to economic recovery and community prosperity. Four recipients will each receive $15,000 in funding as well as a personalized suite of business advisory services through TechAlliance growth coaches.
Swift action will result in immediate results for Main Street businesses. To that end, applications will be open for five days, starting February 5, 2021 followed by a rapid evaluation period of just five days by an adjudication panel comprised of economic development partners from Elgin, Huron, Lambton, Middlesex and Oxford counties. Successful recipients will be announced on February 16, 2021.
The Digital Main Street Community Collaboration Program focuses on bringing together community members to collaboratively identify and solve one or more local main street challenges. The goal is to add resources to ongoing conversations across multiple sectors and assist with piloting solutions. Funding for this initiative is made available through the Digital Main Street program, with support from the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario) and the Government of Ontario.
“TechAlliance is dedicated to our role as a partner with Digital Main Street in Southwestern Ontario,” said Christina Fox, Chief Executive Officer of TechAlliance. “Working alongside our regional economic development partners, our goal is to enable responses to a rapidly changing business landscape and empower the transformation of main street businesses through innovation.”
Applications are open now for the 5-10-15 Main Street Innovation Challenge. Interested parties are encouraged to apply by visiting: techalliance.ca/5-10-15Challenge.
Quotes:
“The Government of Canada is pleased to support the Digital Main Street initiative and see the launch of Community Collaboration Projects. We are proud to work with Digital Main Street partners like TechAlliance of Southwestern Ontario to help main street businesses adapt in the face of COVID-19 and move towards economic recovery.” – The Honourable Mélanie Joly, Minister of Economic Development and Official Languages and Minister responsible for FedDev Ontario
“Providing businesses with the tools they need to adapt, recover and grow is a key part of our economic recovery plan throughout reopening and into the future. This Digital Main Street Community Collaboration Project through TechAlliance is just one example of how Ontario’s recovery will be driven by innovation.” — The Honourable Vic Fedeli, Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade
“I’m proud to have helped launch this joint federal-provincial program as part of our COVID-19 small business recovery strategy. Helping Main Street get back on its feet starts with supporting local small businesses in growing and adapting to today’s world. The TechAlliance 5-10-15 Main Street Innovation Challenge will be the innovation catalyst to support small businesses while they meet the challenges of today and opportunities of tomorrow. When small businesses succeed, Ontario succeeds.” — Prabmeet Sarkaria, Associate Minister of Small Business and Red Tape Reduction
“Bolstering main street businesses is vital to Southwestern Ontario’s economic recovery. TechAlliance’s 5-10-15 Main Street Innovation Challenge is a solid example of how innovation we can help transform businesses and prepare for opportunities ahead.” — Mayor Ed Holder, City of London
“The 5-10-15 Main Street Innovation Challenge will help our region through home-grown innovation. Challenging local innovators to help transform our Main Street businesses will be key to our successful recovery.” — Mayor Mike Bradley, City of Sarnia
“Finding creative technology-enabled solutions that transform main street is vastly important to our businesses. Through this Community Collaboration Project, innovation will lead the way to recovery.” — Mayor Joe Preston, City of St. Thomas
For more information or media inquiries, please contact:
Karen Chalmers
Director, Partnerships
karen.chalmers@techalliance.ca
About TechAlliance of Southwestern Ontario
We are the place for dreamers, innovators, and world-changing ideas. We empower world-class ventures and fuel growth in Canada’s innovation economy. We do this collaboratively by championing, coaching, and amplifying businesses, fostering a vibrant technology community of innovators.
About Digital Main Street
Digital Main Street is a program that helps main street businesses achieve digital transformation. The program is built around an online learning platform, structured training programs, and our Digital Service Squad, a team of street-level team members who help main street businesses grow and manage their operations through technology.
Digital Main Street was created by the Toronto Association on Business Improvement Areas (TABIA) with direct support from the City of Toronto. DMS is also supported by a group of strategic business partners, including Google, Mastercard, Shopify, Microsoft, Facebook, Intuit QuickBooks, Square, and Yellow Pages. A $42.5-million investment from FedDev Ontario and an additional $7.45 million from the Government of Ontario brought together the Toronto Association of Business Improvement Areas, Communitech, Invest Ottawa, and the Ontario Business Improvement Area Association to expand the Digital Main Street Platform in order to support more businesses to go digital as a response to the impacts of COVID-19.
About FedDev Ontario
For more than 10 years, FedDev Ontario has worked to advance and diversify the southern Ontario economy through funding opportunities and business services that support innovation and growth in Canada’s most populous region. Learn more about the impacts the Agency is having in southern Ontario by exploring our pivotal projects.
