Small Business Week 2023

From October 15 to 21, the Ontario Chamber of Commerce (OCC), in partnership with Desjardins, will celebrate Small Business Week. This year, our Small Business, Big Ideas campaign underscores the impact and potential of small business innovation and the importance of supporting these businesses beyond recovery and towards growth. Small Business Week is an opportunity to celebrate the big ideas that contribute to our communities and bring attention to the challenges that inhibit their growth and innovation.

As the indispensable partner of business, we continue to champion the needs of small businesses across the province.

Read the release: Small Businesses at the Heart of the Innovation Economy.

We sincerely thank Desjardins for their partnership in making this campaign a success and their continued leadership in supporting the growth of small businesses across the province.

Desjardins’ Three-Part Resource on Disruptive Innovation and its effect on Small Businesses.

• Propelling Canada into the Future with Disruptive Innovation.
• Public Policy to Promote Innovation in Canada: Lessons Learned from the World’s Leading Countries.
• Accelerating Small Business Success: Navigating the Canadian Innovation Landscape.

The publications and programs below provide actionable recommendations for industry and government to bolster small business innovation and growth.

Publications

• Attracting investment by continuing to build local business capacity, procuring from local and small businesses, and modernizing procurement to a value-based procurement strategy in the Power of the Purchase Order: Modernizing Public Sector Procurement in Ontario.
• Addressing Ontario’s housing affordability crisis as it impacts businesses’ ability to attract and retain talent in the Home Stretched: Tackling Ontario’s Housing Affordability Crisis Through Innovative Solutions.
• Offering solutions to address the barriers impeding the small businesses’ digitization efforts in the Broken Links: Driving Technology Adoption within Ontario’s Small Business.
• Addressing the compounding challenges of Ontario’s small businesses and recommending to increase access to resources and government supports in the 2023 Provincial Budget Submission.
• Providing practical solutions to support small businesses as they fuel Ontario’s economic recovery vis-à-vis Capital is Key: Financing Entrepreneurship in Ontario After COVID-19.
• Offering a unique perspective on the experience of businesses of all sizes across the province through the OCC’s flagship Ontario Economic Report.

Programs

• In partnership with the Government of Canada, the OCC delivers the Canada Digital Adoption Program Grow Your Business Online grant.  Through this program, small business owners can receive a micro-grant worth up to $2,400 to help get their business online, give their e-commerce presence a boost, or digitalize business operations. Grant recipients must commit to maintaining their digital adoption strategy for at least six months. To learn more, click here.
• The Talent Opportunities Program, delivered by the OCC with funding from the Government of Canada’s Student Work Placement Program, helps employers located anywhere in Canada hire college and university students. Eligible candidates may receive a wage subsidy up to $7,000 for each ‘net new’ placement. For more details, click here.
• Providing small businesses with the tools and supports, including in-person workshops, webinars and online resources, they need to help businesses understand the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, why and how to become a more inclusive employer, and how to hire and retain talent from the persons with disabilities labour pool through the Discover Ability Network.