The Canada Digital Adoption Program provides grants and loans to Canadian small and medium-sized businesses looking to boost their online sales and digital capabilities.
On March 3, 2022, the Federal Government launched applications for the new Canada Digital Adoption Program (CDAP). This program was modelled after the “Digital Main Street” program that was launched by the City of Toronto and local Business Improvement Areas, which co-founded the idea in 2014. The program includes $1.4 billion in grants and advisory services and up to $2.6 billion in loans from the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC), which encourages small and medium-sized businesses to boost their online sales and digital capabilities. The CDAP is comprised of two components:
Eligibility
To be eligible for either component of the CDAP, a business must:
Additionally, to be eligible for the Boost your Business Technology component, a business must have annual revenues between $500,000 and $100 million.
Grow Your Business Online
This component includes digital advisory services and micro-grants of $2,400, intended for small, consumer-facing businesses, including those in service industries to adopt e-commerce technologies. To help businesses with their e-commerce plans, a network of service providers will guide businesses through online growth options and provide the $2,400 grant. The grant can be used to cover the costs associated with a range of activities including:
Boost Your Business Technology
This program is for larger businesses that are looking to undertake significant digital upgrades or implement systems like new customer software, digital inventory management systems, network security improvements or robotics. To access funding for this program, eligible businesses can complete a free digital needs assessment to help them better understand their digital readiness. Then, apply for a grant to cover 90%, up to a maximum of $15,000, of the cost of developing a digital adoption program, which will be provided from a roster of expert digital advisory service providers. To support the implementation of this plan, these businesses will be able to apply for an interest-free loan of up to $100,000 from BDC. Additionally, eligible businesses may also apply for a $7,300 wage subsidy to retain a post-secondary student or recent post-secondary graduate to help implement the digital adoption plan.
CDAP Additional Information
More information regarding the CDAP program and the Grow your Business Online, Boost Your Business Technology components, including detailed eligibility, application process and other resources can be found at this Government of Canada Website. For help with other Federal Government COVID-19 support programs, corporate tax, accounting or business advisory assistance, please contact your Bateman MacKay Business Advisor.
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