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Need help solving your business’s biggest challenges?

Ignition, powered by Libro Credit Union, is a unique partnership created to help support our local main street businesses, who are facing intense challenges due to COVID-19.

In the first phase of Ignition‘s five-month design sprint, WEtech Alliance connected with over one hundred small and medium-sized main street businesses across Windsor-Essex and Chatham-Kent, to better understand the top challenges they’re facing.

From there, we engaged local entrepreneurs and community partners to help develop workable solutions, creating resources our main street businesses can leverage, and providing opportunities to use technology to support long term business sustainability during and long after COVID-19.

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Lost Revenue + Barriers to Online Selling

Business owners across Windsor-Essex and Chatham Kent need access to both technical and in-person support in transitioning their businesses sales to be fully functioning online because COVID-19 has fundamentally shifted how they must sell in ways they are not prepared for, nor have ever been taught. The technical support needs to be easy to use, and dramatically improve the businesses ability to sell online, the human support needs to be ongoing and support the rapid development of the business’s digital assets.

WHAT WE HEARD: We heard loud and clear that the negative impact of COVID-19 directly relates to lost revenue as a result of not having the skills necessary to transition to an e-commerce model, as well as businesses lacking the critical infrastructure being built to effectively manage this transition. 

WHAT WE LEARNED: We learned that businesses regionally not only lack time but technical know-how when it comes to many technology business solutions. Business owners are looking for easy and affordable solutions that can be maintained in-house. We also learned that e-commerce sales have soared to an all-time high as reported by Statistics Canada and e-commerce giants Amazon and Shopify. Additionally, we learned the pandemic has pushed many communities and consumers to buy and support local.

SOLUTION: Click the button below to see the solution, powered by Digital Main Street.

SHOP MY TOWN
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Pandemic Impacting Mental Health

Business owners and entrepreneurs across Windsor-Essex and Chatham Kent need access to tangible support for their – and their staff’s – mental health because COVID-19 has fundamentally shifted their daily lives in a chaotic and unique way. This support needs to come from professionals, be widely available, and accessible with anonymity and flexibility – with special focus on sub-groups, particularly women entrepreneurs, visible minorities and business owners who have either not yet resumed or only partially resumed activities.

WHAT WE HEARD: We heard loud and clear that the impact of COVID-19 goes well beyond simply lost profits, and business model challenges, it has directly impacted the mental well-being of our regions critical main street business sector. Many business owners described feeling stretched, being parent, provider, teacher, partner, caretaker, and entrepreneur. The weight of these roles, coupled with the growing unease and uncertainty around protocols and fiscal support for their businesses, has led many to have to lay off employees, or even themselves. 

WHAT WE LEARNED: We learned that this problem is not unique to our region alone. According to a BDC survey, the report revealed that two in five business owners (39%) across Canada report feeling depressed at least once a week  and two-thirds (64%) feel tired or have low energy. Additionally, the report highlighted the pandemic is having an even more alarming impact on certain sub-groups, particularly women entrepreneurs, visible minorities and business owners who have either not yet resumed or only partially resumed activities following the initial COVID-19 lockdown. Finally, we learned that tackling this problem will require the expertise of mental health experts and organizations along with a customized approach to engagement.

SOLUTION: Click the button below to see the solution, powered by Digital Main Street.

ENTREPRENEURS ON THE FRONT LINES
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Tourism + Hospitality Businesses Hit Hard

Tourism and Hospitality based businesses in Windsor-Essex and Chatham-Kent need support in developing and/or adopting technologies because COVID-19 has fundamentally shifted the way their businesses must operate and how their customers engage, and thus creates both an opportunity and need for innovation within their respective verticals. It is important to note that a dynamic collaborative ecosystem among all tourism stakeholders including businesses, municipalities and technology experts and providers, will best support the creation of a new generation of tourism applications and services that respect the history and knowledge of the industry while transferring it into the digital world.

WHAT WE HEARD: We heard loud and clear that the impact of COVID-19 has significantly impacted the tourism and restaurant segment of our regional economy however those consulted shared a sense of optimism that a solution could exist with the proper exploration, buy-in and know-how.

WHAT WE LEARNED: After diving deeper into this problem, it quickly became apparent that there are multiple challenges in this segment of our regional economy that need support in terms of technology development and adoption to reduce costs, enhance operational efficiency, and improve services and customer experience. Our regional tourism and hospitality businesses understand the challenges deeply however struggle to transform the tourism industry into an innovation-driven economy by enriching tourism experiences with the use of technology and data.

SOLUTION: Click the button below to see the solution, powered by Digital Main Street.

SPARKING TOURISM 4.0
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QUESTIONS?

Contact our Director of Corporate Innovation, Adam Frye

Email: afrye@wetech-alliance.com