‘Business in a box’ eases Canada rental woes

Scheme giving entrepreneurs subsidised space by reusing shipping containers has 30-40 people on wait list.

Business rents are high in the eastern Canadian city of Toronto, but one community organiser has found a way to solve the problem by reusing old shipping containers.

On a business trip to Ghana, Kevin Lee saw battered, rusty containers used as barber shops and other businesses and decided to bring the idea back to Canada in the form of a programme called “business in a box”.

Lee’s programme connects entrepreneurs with subsidised space, advice on loans and other services and a prime street-level location to sell their products.

The programme already has 19 stalls and between 30 and 40 people on a wait list.

Al Jazeera’s Daniel Lak reports from Toronto.

Source: Al Jazeera