Business Funding Opportunities

Gives up to $100,000 in interest free loans from the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC) to implement the technologies that can propel your business forward.

Eligible technologies include but are not limited to: 

• Acquiring IT equipment
• Installation of new technologies
• Updating and/or expanding IT equipment
• Training staff on onboarded technologies
• Materials and support services directly related to onboarding the technology
• Further advisory services on your digital adoption plan

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Canadian SMEs or start-up companies can receive up to 40% of the cost of a new employee’s salary to a maximum of $75,000 in order to carry out a project that supports the development of a natural product or technology.

Eligible positions include but are not limited to:

• Product or technology development
• Business development
• Regulatory strategy and/or collecting necessary data for regulatory submissions
• Product or technology scale-up
• Marketing or sales strategy
• Fundraising to support the growth of the product or technology

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Apply to receive support through one-on-one guidance from a Small Business Enterprise Centre Advisor, participate in workshops, seminars, or networking events, or talk with a mentor with experience in starting, expanding, or buying a small business. Additionally, a grant of up to $5,000 is available. 

These services and grant are available if you want to start a new company, expand an existing company or buy a business in Ontario. To qualify for a grant, you must be able to make a contribution in cash or in kind. It has to be for least 25% of the grant amount. Apply through a Small Business Enterprise Centre.

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The Canada Small Business Financing Program makes it easier for small businesses to get loans from financial institutions by sharing the risk with lenders. The maximum loan amount for a borrower is $1.15 million.

• Up to a maximum of $1,000,000 for term loans for any one borrower, of which no more than $500,000 can be used for purchasing leasehold improvements or improving leased property and purchasing or improving new or used equipment and of that amount, a maximum of $150,000 could be used for intangible assets and working capital costs.

• Up to a maximum of $150,000 for lines of credit.
Financial institutions deliver the program and are solely responsible for approving the loan. For more information download their PDF pamphlet or click here to find a lender near you.

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Get a non-repayable contribution to develop, adopt or adapt new or improved technologies at any stage of innovation.

You may be eligible if the following applies:

• You are an incorporated, profit-oriented small or medium-sized business in Canada
• You have 500 or fewer full-time equivalent employees
• You plan to pursue growth and profit by developing and commercializing innovative, technology-driven new or improved products, services or processes in Canada

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Get up to $30,000 in matching funds, 7-12 months of mentorship and access to market research and investors to start or grow your technology business.

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Supports the Canadian agriculture and agri-food sector through initiatives that promote innovation and competitiveness.

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You may be eligible if the following applies:

• You are a for-profit organization (an organization that exists to make a profit)
• You operate in the agriculture, agri-food and agri-products industry including the fish and seafood industry
• You are directly involved in growing, harvesting, processing, or otherwise transforming or consolidating your products
• Your project is aimed at meeting actual market-specific certification requirements (support under this component is only provided for initial certifications, not subsequent renewals)
• You have up to 500 full-time equivalent employees
• Your annual revenues don't exceed $100 million
• You are a legal entity capable of entering into legal binding agreements

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Your not-for-profit organization can get up to $200,000 per year or a maximum of $1 million over 5 years for to strengthen Canada's agriculture sector that help under-represented groups (women, youth, persons with disabilities, racialized persons, visible minorities, 2SLGBTQI+ communities, and official language minority communities) pursue entrepreneurship, leadership and careers in agriculture and agri-food.

You may be eligible if the following applies:

• You are a not-for-profit (Organizations that operate solely for social welfare, civic improvement, pleasure or recreation, or any other purpose except profit.)
• You are an organization involved in providing education or developing educational materials or tools.

• You demonstrate the ability to deliver a national and/or agriculture and agri-food sector-wide project that includes, but is not limited to:

  • Participation of relevant industry stakeholders in the project development and/or implementation

  • The ability to implement the project nationally

  • Support and buy-in from relevant industry stakeholders in the proposed project through support letters

• You are a legal entity capable of entering into legal binding agreements

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Get up to $10 million in repayable contributions to cover 50% of the cost of projects that aim to accelerate demonstration, commercialization and/or adoption of innovative products, technologies, processes or services that increase agri-sector competitiveness and sustainability.

You may be eligible if your activity(ies) are of the following nature and type:

• Commercialization of innovative agricultural technologies or processes
• Demonstration of innovative agricultural, agri-food or agri-based technologies or processes where all necessary testing and piloting has been completed and the innovation is ready for you to commercialize. The demonstration must involve one or more of the following:
• Production of samples for market validation
• Creation of a reference or showcase site for pre-commercial demonstration
• Adoption and significant adaptation of commercially ready innovative technologies or processes to the applicant's agriculture or agri-food operations

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A self-managed producer-government savings account designed to help you manage small income declines and make investments to manage risk and improve market income.

Each year, you can deposit up to 100% of your Allowable Net Sales to your AgriInvest account and receive a matching government contribution on 1% of your Allowable Net Sales.

You may be eligible if the following applies:

• You farm in Canada
• You file an income tax return reporting farming income (loss) to the Canada Revenue Agency by the final filing deadline for the program yearFootnote1
• You file an AgriInvest form reporting sales and purchases of allowable commodities by the final deadline for the program year

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The Wine Sector Support Program (WSSP) provides short-term financial support to licensed Canadian wineries as they adapt to ongoing and emerging challenges that impact financial resilience and competitiveness of the wine industry.

The program will provide non-repayable grants to wine licensees in Canada based on their production of bulk wine fermented in Canada from domestic and/or imported primary agricultural products.

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Receive funding and support for research and development needs in the greenhouse industry. Collaborative opportunities between greenhouse and technology businesses alongside research institutions are created to advance development and adoption of new technologies.

• Eligible projects will support acceleration, development, commercialization, or adoption of technologies related to indoor production of plants.
• Eligible technologies will have the potential to lower operating costs, environmental impacts, or increase overall competitiveness of greenhouse businesses
• Eligible technologies may be at any stage of development when the project begins
• Eligible technologies may relate to one or more crops that are (or could be) produced in a controlled environment setting

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If your export-ready company features products from the agriculture and agri-food sectors, you can get funding to offset the cost of booth prices on a show-by-show basis when you exhibit at trade shows.

• Streamlined access to financial support
• Customizable turn-key booth in Canada Pavilion events
• Focus on new to market, first-time exhibitors, and innovative products
• Priority will be given to small and medium size exporters

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Access various programs that offer funding to complete projects under key priority areas such as research and innovation, economic development, environmental stewardship and protection and assurance.

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Get a contribution of up to $50,000 to cover up to 50% of costs related to developing and expanding your e-commerce presence, attending virtual events, applying for certification and intellectual property protection in international markets, search engine optimization, and more.

You may be eligible if the following applies:

• You are for-profit
• You are an incorporated legal entity, limited liability partnership (LLP) or cooperative
• You have an active Canada Revenue Agency business number
• You employ fewer than 500 full-time equivalent employees
• You have $100,000 to $100 million in declared revenue in Canada during its past fiscal year (or 12 months for quarterly filers)

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Access to Capital For Small and Medium-Sized Businesses and Social Enterprises

Get repayable financing of $150,000 or more for your SME or social enterprise, in the form of a loan, loan guarantee or equity investment, when financing from other sources is insufficient, to start or expand a business in rural Ontario.

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I.D.E.A. Fund

Provides high potential businesses with the opportunity to receive non-repayable grant money (seed funding) and business advisory supports to develop new green products, services, processes, and technologies and/or redesign existing products, services, processes, and technologies to reduce their impact on the environment.

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Rhyze Up!

Applicants are eligible for up to $10,000 to help advance or up-scale their business. You will also gain access to 15 hours' worth of entrepreneur mentorship from industry specialists. Apply to this grant if you are a woman led or co-founded business that has a plan for scaling up. Accelerate the growth of your business and Rhyze Up!

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The Canada-Ontario Job Grant provides direct financial support to individual employers or employer consortia who wish to purchase training for their employees. It is available to small, medium and large businesses with a plan to deliver short-term training to existing and new employees. Important to know:

• Employers can get up to $10,000 in government support per person for training costs.
• The training has to be delivered by an eligible, third-party trainer.
• Employers with 100 or more employees need to contribute 1/2 of the training costs. Small employers with less than 100 employees need to contribute 1/6 of training costs.
• For employer groups who want to apply for training supports the government offers a COJG Consortium Stream. The Consortium Stream allows a group of employers (two or more employers) to pool their resources to support common training objectives and goals. To apply as a consortium, the intermediary organization needs to ensure all the participating employers and trainees meet COJG requirements, and are able to make their required contribution towards the training cost.
• Most organizations acting as an intermediary are eligible for administrative funding equal to 15% of the government contribution.

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Co-operative Education Tax Credit

If your business hires co-op students, you may be eligible for a refundable tax credit of 30% to a maximum of $3,000 per placement.

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WIL Digital Subsidy

Get a wage subsidy to cover up to 50% of the costs of a work term placement with a maximum of $5,000 or 70% of the costs with a maximum of $7,000 for underrepresented students, that provides post-secondary students with digital learning , with maximum coverage for first-year students or those in under-represented groups.

Futurpreneur Canada makes it easier for aspiring young business owners to secure financing. And we’ve partnered with the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC) to extend our support to you even further. We offer collateral-free loans at better interest rates than most banks. But we can’t do it alone. We’re able to finance up to $20,000 per business. If you need more money, BDC may provide up to $40,000.

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