The President of the Kamloops Chamber of Commerce says the focus during small business week will be to ensure that businesses get the help they need to weather the effects of COVID-19.
Tyson Andrykew says there was some talk about the small and medium sized business grant during last week’s BC leader’s debate, but he says that is not enough support.
“I think its $10,000 to $30,000 grant. Sounds like its a pretty arduous sign up process, so we’re really hoping that there is going to be more support from the provincial government over the next six months or so just to ensure that we don’t have a significant business loss over the winter,” he said.
“The pandemic has had a pretty significant impact and quite frankly we are concerned that small business is being somewhat left out in the cold. You know, major sectors like tourism and hospitality, those sectors that are most impacted by the pandemic.”
Andrykew says small business week is a chance for people to pay tribute to and support local entrepreneurs who he says are the backbone of the economy as they contribute so much to communities including here in Kamloops.
“We want to make sure that there is some direct funding supports going to businesses,” he added.