Working for Northerners to have the same technology advantages as our southern neighbours

In this edition of the "Helpers" series, we look at an organization working to have better tech and connectivity for northerners in the ever-growing digital age, the Blue Sky Economic Growth Corporation, located in North Bay.

Executive Director Susan Church explains that "our mandate continues to be providing technology development assistance and services for the Northeastern Ontario region and the key to that mission is working to bring the public and private sector together to expand Broadband services across our service delivery area and beyond.  Our area is Mattawa to Manitoulin Island and North Bay to Almaguin Highlands and all points in between."

Church says that the more advanced and high-tech the world becomes, the more important it is to ensure that Northern Ontario is keeping up.

"Without question, the biggest change is that when we started to facilitate the building of Broadband infrastructure projects in the region some 10 years ago, the needs were so much different than they are now. 1.5 MBps speeds were acceptable for the use of email and internet searches. Now, with our home entertainment, security, educational, health and government service usage, the need for speed and capacity has left rural Northern Ontario communities behind our more urban neighbourhoods, creating a digital divide that did not exist before."

Blue Sky, funded through FedNor, focuses on a few key areas. In addition to lobbying for better broadband infrastructure, they also have a program called "Business Technology Investment Program or BTIF.

Church explains the BTIF program by saying "BTIF  is an initiative which assists businesses to develop their capacity for e-business and in effect their ability to compete and thrive in the digital age. Through this program, we are committed to helping small-to-medium-sized businesses in the Blue Sky Net region within Northeastern Ontario who are looking to enhance their capacity for business technology and their ability for technology adoption."

Essentially Blue Sky can provide funding to businesses that meet eligibility requirements, adding "the BTIF grant helps to alleviate the costs of implementing innovative technology solutions for businesses to help them grow their existing business."

It's been a busy decade for the organization.

"We have now helped 392 SME's (small market enterprises), leveraged nearly $1.5 million of FedNor funding with over $800,000 of private sector investment to support 160 new jobs and maintain 173. The majority of the projects involved the development of websites with a gradual increase in the use of social media involvement" she adds.

If you have a business and would like to see if you can benefit from the programs you can connect in a variety of ways. The group's website is www.blueskynet.ca and the Executive Director's email is [email protected] and of course, you can always go old-school and pick up the phone to call 705-476-0874 ext. 211 at your convenience.

This is one of a series of good news articles in the "Helpers" series, covering people or groups who make things better in our community. To suggest a person, volunteer, group or an organization contact Mike Anthony at [email protected]