Shopify and Canadian Government Partner to Help Small Businesses Go Online
Shopify has partnered with the Canadian government to help the country’s small businesses shift to an online presence.
The leading payment facilitator joined with Canada’s Minister of Small Business, Export Promotion and International Trade, Mary Ng, last week at an event to launch Go Digital Canada, a resource hub for Canadian businesses.
“As Canadians, we are resilient – finding solutions where others just see a challenge. Our government is working hard to harness this entrepreneurial spirit and help Canadians turn their innovative ideas into successful businesses – and help them rebuild in the months to come,” Ng said in a press release.
“Shopify is an incredible made-in-Canada success story, and their work to help Canadian entrepreneurs go digital, as we increasingly shift online in response to COVID-19, will help create even more Canadian success stories. Now is Canada’s time,” she said.
Shopify is offering a 90-day free trial on its platform with free additional features, as well as a set of resources and educational tools to help support businesses that wish to grow their businesses online. It’s also providing eligible merchants with a free Tap & Chip Reader.
The company is also working with partners such as Digital Main Street, a program created by the Toronto Association of Business Improvement Areas to help businesses adopt digital tools and technology, as part of the initiative.
“Shopify proudly calls Canada home, with our values rooted in supporting the small businesses that make up the backbone of the Canadian economy,” Harley Finkelstein, Shopify Chief Operating Officer, said.
“Our partnership with the Government of Canada to launch Go Digital Canada is the latest way we’re helping to remove barriers for entrepreneurs, by giving them the tools and resources they need to digitize their business with confidence, at no cost.”
According to the press release, small businesses make up nearly 98% of the companies in Canada. Like many small businesses globally, those in Canada have been forced to adapt quickly to the economic conditions brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.