New funding doubles Schulich students helping small businesses move to online commerce
A second wave of students from the Schulich School of Business are being deployed to aid businesses across the GTA struggling from the impacts of COVID-19 quickly gear up for online commerce.
With new support from the governments of Canada and Ontario, Schulich will double the number of students from the MBA, Master’s and Undergraduate degree programs, bringing the total amount to 100 students. The students will be selected for paid summer placements and work-integrated learning opportunities in York Region, Peel Region, Durham Region and Halton Region.
Google Canada has also pledged $1 million to help take ShopHERE national alongside with original efforts from the City of Toronto and Digital Main Street. Google Canada’s commitment will be used to set up 50,000 online stores across the country.
Calgary, Markham, Vaughan, Brampton, Hamilton, Kitchener and Stratford have all signed onto the national initiative. ShopHERE will begin rolling out in select municipalities this month.
Schulich originally announced its participation in the major new initiative back in May alongside the City of Toronto and a team of leading global technology companies to help Toronto’s main street retailers survive the COVID-19 crisis.
“I want to thank the business students of the Schulich School of Business and York University for bringing their talent and energy to help us fight for Toronto’s small businesses and artists,” said Toronto Mayor John Tory.
The students will benefit from the support of leading technology and e-commerce firms such as Shopify, Google, Facebook, Microsoft, eBay and Mastercard Canada. To help develop the stores, volunteers from Toronto’s technology community are contributing their time, including: Global Skills Hub, Scotiabank, General Assembly, Brain Station, Juno, FreshBooks, NEXT Canada, TechTO and TribalScale.
“Schulich is proud to partner with the City of Toronto in helping local small businesses and entrepreneurs rapidly transition to selling online,” says Dezsö J. Horváth, “We’re also proud to see that our students are playing an essential role in stabilizing our economy by supporting local businesses during this transformational time.”
Funding for the placement program will be provided by the City of Toronto and Magnet, a social innovation platform with a mission to accelerate inclusive economic growth in Canada.
ShopHERE is supported by a number of community and corporate partners, including Toronto Association of Business Improvement Areas, Shopify, Google, Mastercard, Microsoft, Facebook, eBay, Ritual, Trufan, eShipper, Snapchat, Magnet and Schulich School of Business.