COVID-19 Lockdown: Mississauga Offers Tools and Supports for Local Small Businesses
Mississauga, as part of Peel Region, entered the Grey-Lockdown level of Ontario’s COVID-19 Response Framework today. As such, the City has made available resources to continue to support Mississauga’s small business community.
Guidance for businesses can be found on the City’s website and includes assets such as relevant news and updates for the business community as well as free webinars to help businesses respond to the impacts of COVID-19.
“Small businesses are the backbone of our economy and so important to the vibrancy of neighbourhoods across our city,” said Mayor Crombie. “Many business owners are our friends, neighbours and family members whose livelihoods have taken a significant hit as result of this pandemic. Our city can’t recover if our businesses can’t recover. Shopping locally, liking your favorite restaurant’s social media page or leaving a review of your local pet groomer – all these actions help.”
To help shine a light on these small businesses and to remind residents to shop locally, the City of Mississauga and Tourism Mississauga launched the Mississauga Made campaign earlier this year.
Mississauga Made is an online initiative inspired to support and promote local products, businesses, artists, stories, activities and experiences. The Mississauga Made marketplace is a free promotional advertising opportunity for all Mississauga-based businesses.
Resources offered by the City to help small businesses today can be accessed through the below links:
- Business Relief Portal – A self-selection tool that helps identify relief programs and incentives that best apply to specific business needs and links to the government source of support
- Digital Main Street – A Program that helps main street businesses achieve digital transformation through website enhancements and digital marketing.
- Free Webinars – A series of free webinars to support small business owners and entrepreneurs during this pandemic
- Business Advisory Services – Free advisory services with professionals in legal, accounting, business operations and sales and marketing
- Mississauga ShopHERE – Provides independent Mississauga small businesses and artists with a quick, easy and no-cost way to set up an online store to sell products and services.
- Ritual One – A 100 per cent commission-free digital ordering platform available for all Mississauga restaurants and food service providers. Offer available for free through the end of 2020.
For information on health and safety recommendations during the COVID-19 pandemic, please visit peelregion.ca/coronavirus.
For information about the City’s response to COVID-19:
- Visit mississauga.ca/covid
- Follow @CityMississauga on Twitter and Facebook
- Watch Mayor Bonnie Crombie’s weekly COVID-19 press conference
- Contact 311 (905-615-4311)