New program offers grants to build online businesses

VICTORIA — The British Columbia government is introducing a new grant program to support small and medium-sized businesses in expanding or pivoting to online sales.

Ravi Kahlon, minister of jobs, economic recovery and innovation, said Wednesday the government is spending $12 million to help about 1,500 businesses launch or upgrade online stores.

"COVID has shifted the way we do business and the way consumers consume. And so it's critically important that we, as a province, support our businesses in that shift," Kahlon said.

The grants will provide business owners with up to $7,500 each and comes from the $1.5-billion Stronger BC funding announced in September. A portion of the funding will be reserved for Indigenous businesses.

Kahlon acknowledged during a news conference that there have been delays in getting some previously announced support funding out the door for small and medium-sized businesses.

Only about $12 million of the $300million recovery grant program introduced in October has been distributed, he said.

In December, the government eased requirements for struggling businesses applying for the recovery grants. It expanded eligibility to seasonal and temporarily closed businesses, and reduced the required length of time that a business had to be operating to 18 months from three years.

On Wednesday, Kahlon said the government has received about 4,000 new applications in recent weeks, more than 60 per cent of which come from the beleaguered tourism sector.

The remaining delay is due to a two-step process that requires applicants to first submit a recovery plan before they are approved for funding, he said.

Todd Stone, the B.C. Liberal critic for jobs, economic recovery and innovation, said the new e-commerce funding is too little too late.

"We have little confidence in the timely delivery of this program announced by the NDP today as they continue to bungle and botch support for small businesses," Stone said in a statement.