Two Indigenous-led companies have received federal funding of more than $1.6 million to create new jobs and grow their business.
The announcement was made Friday morning at Georgian College’s Barrie campus.
Filomena Tassi, minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development (FedDev) Agency for Southern Ontario, announced the funding for eSupply Canada and Biskane, so they can grow and diversify.
“We know what’s available to Canadian businesses and organizations, and we want to support the growth and development of business,” she said. “We know the significant contributions that can be made here. The two businesses we are supporting today is a perfect example of that.
“We want to try to make it easier, not more difficult and we have two leaders today here that are doing just that in the Indigenous community," Tassi added.
eSupply Canada, an Indigenous-owned online distributor of office, janitorial and small-scale industrial supplies, received more than $1.1 million to improve its online e-commerce platform so it can better support Indigenous businesses and entrepreneurs across Canada.
With the Canadian government's support, eSupply Canada is also implementing new digital services to improve the customer experience, including package tracking. The company will create eight new jobs and increase e-commerce revenue, to help it grow and create more opportunities for the Indigenous community.
“This strategic investment underscores our shared commitment to foster economic growth, job creation and empowering Indigenous communities,” said Steven Vanloffeld, founder and CEO of eSupply Canada. “This investment will facilitate the development of an innovative revenue generation platform tailored specifically for our business communities.
“What sets our platform apart is its capacity to enable communities to recoup revenue from their own internal purchases. It will also serve as a vehicle for communities to drive sales revenue through direct and online sales channels, and participate in local regional and national procurement (buying) methods,” added Vanloffeld, who has connections with Georgian College’s Owen Sound campus.
Biskane is an Indigenous-led company that provides e-commerce support for Indigenous artists, business owners, suppliers and vendors to market their arts, crafts and products. It received an investment from the federal government of as much as $500,000.
Biskane will develop an online platform for supply chain management and mobile authentication to help onboard Indigenous businesses. The company will also collaborate with Indigenous social media influencers to increase the visibility of its Indigenous marketplace, products and supply chain.
As a result, the company will create seven new positions to support its digital storefront and enhance the online marketplace for Indigenous businesses, allowing them to expand their market reach. These investments are working to provide good jobs and economic opportunities for Indigenous communities.
“Biskane is all about the art. Art is not only the product you hang on the wall, but also the clothes you wear. We’re all about supporting the arts,” said Chad Solomon, founder of Biskane. “Biskane, of course, is a platform that we started to help the Indigenous, digital age move forward.
“Biskane is about people first, we’re next about the planet and of course looking into possibilities.”
Solomon worked with a mentor and other business experts at Georgian College’s Henry Bernick Entrepreneurship Centre in Barrie, to help further develop his business and received help to apply for the FedDev grant.
Since November 2015, FedDev Ontario has contributed more than $75 million to support 240 Indigenous-led and Indigenous-focused projects.
