A recent report by Canadian Internet Registration Authority (CIRA), the organization that manages the .CA domain registrations, showed less than half (41 percent) of Canadian small businesses have an online presence. The CIRA noted at the time that businesses “may be missing lucrative opportunities as Canadians come to rely on the Internet to help them make buying decisions.
A new partnership has been formed between CIRA and non-profit outfit Startup Canada that will help startups understand the importance of registering a .CA over another domain extension, such as .COM, with the hope to increase brand recognition and revenues. The partnership will see entrepreneurs gain “access .CA’s treasure trove of resources, from information on domain names, digital strategies and SEO, to cyber security and establishing and expanding their online presence.”
Victoria Lennox, co-founder and CEO of Startup Canada, said, “We are entrepreneurs passionate about supporting our homegrown startups in becoming successful and high-impact companies that are breaking new ground on the global stage.”
The CIRA website shows that 2,261,475.ca domain names have been registered to-date, up 71,000 since January. No indication if the partnership will offer startup entrepreneurs any sort of discount for domain registrations.