Canada Digital Adoption Program offers support for new marketing initiatives

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2023

If your business would benefit from implementing or improving on a digital marketing plan, the governments newly introduced Canada Digital Adoption Program may be worth considering.

The program assists applicants with revenues exceeding $500,000 in one of the past three years and offers two aids:

- up to $15,000 grant from Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED) to cover up to 90% of the cost of advisory services to develop a digital adoption plan
- a zero-interest loan of up to $100,000 from BDC to implement the technology

You can apply for the grant and not the loan, as the grant application comes first.

Applications must provide basic information on the business and complete a Digital Needs Assessment Survey, which analysis your business’ digital maturity. Applicants will receive confirmation or rejection within 5-10 business days.

Upon approval, you are granted access to the programs Digital Advisors Marketplace. You will then select an advisor from a curated list on the Marketplace.  One disadvantage to the program is that you cannot use a marketing firm that is not on the list.

Notably, companies that already have a digital plan in place are also eligible to apply with slight modification to their applications.

A second application is required for the up to $100,000 in interest free loans with a 5-year term + 12 months capital postponement (total of 6 years). The amount of the loan is determined by the size of your business. If your annual gross revenues are:

·       between $500,000 and below $5M you can request a loan of between $25,000 and $50,000

·       $5M and more, you can request a loan between $25,000 and $100,000

The loan must be used solely for the implementation of a digital adoption plan that is recognized by the CDAP.

For those in the marketing space, a separate application is available to become a service provider can be found here.

For a detailed list on requirements for approval click here, and for more information from the government’s website click here.

Please reach out if you have any questions.