Digital Resources and Skills Essential for Small Business Survival

(Toronto – November 30, 2022) – Small businesses are far from recovered from the pandemic and continue to face mounting pressure including debt, labour shortages, inflation, and a looming recession. To help them survive and compete in an increasingly digital world, the Ontario Chamber of Commerce (OCC) released, Broken Links: Driving Technology Adoption within Ontario’s Small Businesses. This policy brief explores solutions to address the barriers impeding the small businesses’ digitization efforts.

“It is devastating with the holiday season just around the corner, to see so many small business owners at a breaking point: mounting pressures of debt, inflation, staffing shortages, supply chain disruptions and uncertainty around consumer spending habits, said Rocco Rossi, President and CEO, OCC. “While the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated technology adoption within many organizations, many are being left behind. Lack of capital, talent, and sufficient broadband access continue to be barriers. Supporting small businesses to create or enhance their online presence is critical for them to enter new markets, increase online sales, reduce costs, better manage inventory, and more.”

Our policy recommendations can be summarized under the following themes:

1. Resources. Expand eligibility and access to programs and supports.
2. Skills. Offer training programs and work integrated learning to foster digital skills.
3. Broadband. Accelerate the rollout of digital infrastructure together with the private sector.

“Ontario’s economy and communities thrive when small businesses succeed. Digitization leads to more innovation, competition, better services, and high-quality jobs,” said Claudia Dessanti, Senior Manager of Policy, OCC and author of the brief. “Consumers have become accustomed to accessing products and services online, and we must ensure small businesses are not left behind in the transition to an increasingly digitized economy.”

This paper offers policy recommendations to address the key barriers small businesses face in adopting and implementing technology: access to resources, skills, and broadband. We would like to thank our partners Google Canada and Future Skills Centre for supporting this project. Read the brief: Broken Links: Driving Technology Adoption within Ontario’s Small Businesses.

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About the Ontario Chamber of Commerce
For more than a century, the Ontario Chamber of Commerce (OCC) has been the independent, non-partisan, indispensable partner of Ontario business. The OCC’s mission is to support economic growth in Ontario by defending business priorities at Queen’s Park on behalf of its network’s diverse 60,000 members.

For more information, please contact:
Alissa Reid
Coordinator, Public Affairs, Ontario Chamber of Commerce
alissareid@occ.ca | (705) 205-1434