On Tuesday, the two governments announced $ 18 million in aid to the Association of Technologies québécoise des Technologies (AQT) and the Entrepreneur School of Quebec (EEQ), whose mission will be to support the implementation of digital transformation in retailers.

The ad targets around 5,000 companies with fewer than 100 employees working in the retail sector in all regions of Quebec.

Federal Minister for Economic Development Melanie Jolly noted that in 2020, Canada’s retail sector suffered revenue losses of between 30% and 40%, and that before the health crisis, only 36% of Quebec’s SMEs were achieving sales across the board. The Internet through its transactional website.

However, the pandemic has seen up to 85% of Canadians resort to the internet to purchase their purchases.

Work to be performed by AQT and Entrepreneur School with small traders will include diagnostics for business digitization, support for more efficient digitization and creation of a transactional site.

Quebec’s Minister of Economy, Pierre Fitzgibbon, explained that the analyzes and investments that affect all online trade logistics, including the need for warehouses, adequate stocks and delivery methods, for example, are part of the process that will be implemented.

Although the announcement targets 5,000 companies, Nicole Martel, president and CEO of québécoise des Technologies, specified that this approach could be used by some 25,000 companies in total.