submitted to EFP
Today, The Town of Essex is pleased to announce that Essex Centre and Harrow will be participating in the My Main Street Local Business Accelerator program to help revitalize our main streets.
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Government of Canada, through the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario), announced a $23.25-million investment to the Canadian Urban Institute (CUI) and the Economic Developers Council of Ontario (EDCO) to establish My Main Street — a two-year program to support the recovery and revitalization of main streets and local businesses in southern Ontario through two program streams.
EDCO is delivering the My Main Street Local Business Accelerator program stream, which supports the revitalization of 65 main street communities, and provides non-repayable contributions for more than 650 local businesses across southern Ontario. The program focuses on creating and maintaining vibrant and inclusive local main streets while providing residents, new entrepreneurs, and existing businesses with economic opportunities in our main street communities.
Two main street communities in the Town of Essex will be supported with a dedicated Main Street Ambassador, customized market research, data analysis and non-repayable funding contributions for new and existing small businesses.
“We are thrilled to participate in the My Main Street Local Business Accelerator program here in the Town of Essex. Local business development plays a vital role in the growth of our local economy. The My Main Street program will add tremendous value to the Harrow and Essex Centre Streetscape Project which in turn, will greatly enhance the economic growth, job creation, and revitalization in the Town of Essex,” said Mayor Snively.