My Main Street Local Business Accelerator Program
The My Main Street Program is now closed. Please reach out to us at invest@sarnia.ca for business support.
The My Main Street Local Business Accelerator program is delivered by the Economic Developers Council of Ontario (EDCO) and implemented by the City of Sarnia's Economic Development Department. It is a data-driven program focused on the revitalization Sarnia's Downtown & Mitton Village areas with a healthy retail mix, while ensuring that residents benefit from the economic opportunities available along their main street.
The program emphasizes the impact of market research and deep data analysis on the main street community to understand demographics, media habits, income spending data, consumer behavior, and market gaps, and to identify growth and expansion opportunities for new and existing businesses.
As a Main Street community, businesses in Sarnia's downtown and Mitton Village will be supported with the following resources at no cost:
- Main Street Ambassador to provide wrap-around business support for both new and existing businesses, including but not limited to business planning, business model analysis, marketing, business plan templates, customized market research reports, business support referrals, opportunity identification, and much more.
- Community Market Profiles to identify improvements for the retail mix, identify novel opportunities for new and existing businesses, and help businesses target their investments in a meaningful way. For data and information specific to Sarnia's downtown and Mitton Village areas, click on the below links to access community profiles developed by Environics Analytics.
Downtown Sarnia
Mitton Village
- Live Mastermind Sessions and Pre-recorded Business Training for local businesses covering a range of topics from business planning, business development, marketing, and operational planning, to raising funds, and more.
- Non-repayable Funding Contributions of up to $10,000 to a maximum of ten businesses in Downtown and Mitton Village to support starting or expanding their business based on a customized market research report obtained with the help of Main Street Ambassador.
Applicants for these non-repayable contributions will be required to participate in regular meetings with the My Main Street Ambassador.
For additional information, please visit My Main Street Website.
