27 January 2021
A NEW ONLINE APP FOR FRANCO-ONTARIAN BUSINESS
Ottawa, January 27, 2021 – The Regroupement des gens d’affaires de la Capitale nationale (RGA) receives a funding of $ 250,000 from Ontario Ministry of Francophone Affairs (MAFO).
The funding will be used to promote and enhance a digital platform that will provide a 360-degree landscape of the economic and cultural wealth that francophone businesses in Ontario have to offer. The platform is “Business-to-Consumer” (B2C) and will appear under the name Quartier d’affaires.
“By funding this project, our government is responding to specific needs identified during consultations with the Francophone community,” said Francophone Affairs Minister Caroline Mulroney. “The RGA has put forward an exciting project that will enable francophone consumers and businesses to easily identify products and services from their community, which will encourage local purchasing as well as enable businesses to develop new markets. The RGA’s concerted approach will maximize the impact of this platform within the Francophone economic community that has rallied behind this project.“
As a result of this funding, synergies will be created between the companies present on the platform and potential customers, whether they are non-profit organizations, companies or private individuals. A key element will be the data analysis that will reveal the state of digitization of the Franco-Ontarian business community.
The RGA will manage the project in collaboration with Club Canadien de Toronto(CCTO), Conseil de la coopération de l’Ontario (CCO), Société Économique de l’Ontario (SÉO) and the Fédération des gens d’affaires de l’Ontario (FGA), for all marketing and promotion of Quartiers d’affaires.
“The goal of this platform is to engage the Franco-Ontarian business community and to stimulate economic growth amongst its entrepreneurs and businesses,” mentions Lise Sarazin, Director General of the RGA. “We’ve identified four types of businesses at different stages of digitization, which will enable us to integrate a “commerce” function into this platform, through call-to-action , which will allow the customer to purchase directly from the seller.” she added.
This project represents the second phase of the strategy, supported by MAFO and fits perfectly with the development and sustainability objectives of the FGA.
“To do this, we want to innovate and develop new functions that will allow francophone businesses and not for profit organizations in Ontario, that have been affected by the pandemic, to equip themselves with digital tools that will allow them to increase their trading opportunities – across the province, in Canada and internationally.”, explains Julie Potvin, Vice-Chair of the RGA and Vice-Chair of the FGA
The RGA is a unifying organization, recognized for its production and management of exemplary results; it is governed by a board of directors of 15 elected volunteer members, representing all parts of the National capital region. It has forged more than 75 partnerships with more than 150 members. Its team works in close collaboration with many cooperative, associative and private partners, both English and French, in order to promote the development of a united and sustainable economy.
e développement d’une économie solidaire et durable.