After more than a month of waiting, we now know how much money Prince George’s Hubspace is receiving from B.C.’s tech-sector funding and how it’ll be spent.
The Innovation Central Society (ICS) announced today (Sept. 14) it plans to help bring the downtown up to speed on the economy and adapting to the online business surge, courtesy of COVID-19, by way of $254,000 in grant funding.
The ICS states it’ll connect main street businesses, non-profits and entrepreneurs to advisors, experts, service providers and other related resources through a free program known as Digital Economy: Rapid Response and Resiliency.
“COVID-19 has sped up digital adoption by upwards of five years, and we’re here to help northern businesses catch up” says Hubspace spokesperson Chris King, noting the program will be targeted at small- and medium-sized businesses.
“The opportunity we have here is astronomical, not only can we bounce back from this, we can create whole new industries and jobs for the north.”
On July 28, Federal Economic Development Minister Melanie Joly unveiled $2,950,000 for InnovateBC to help those involved in the BC Accelerator Network (BCAN) struggling through the COVID-19 pandemic.
ICS is the only northern partner with the BCAN, which serves business people in the 650,000 sq-km. region.
“The programs announced today demonstrate that Innovate BC and Western Diversification have a clear vision on the need to not just safely restart the economy, but to help our business community prosper through this pandemic and beyond,” said Hubspace Entrepreneurship Director Garth Frizzell following the announcement.
The Hubspace’s digital marketing bootcamp is set to provide expert solutions and further explain resources businesses need at this time in executing a personalized plan during the pandemic.
Interested applicants are asked to visit the ICS-Hubspace website for more information as the program is currently running until Mar. 31, 2021.
