How To Apply For The CDAP Grant

How To Apply For The CDAP Grant - Consultus Digital

Understanding the Steps Involved in Applying for Canada Digital Adoption Program Funding

For small brick-and-mortar businesses that have always operated offline, it can be difficult to adapt as more and more customers bring their business online. Fortunately, government programs like the Canada Digital Adoption Program (CDAP) exist to help small to medium businesses utilize digital tools.

Keep reading to learn more about CDAP and how to apply for funding through this Canadian government grant program and reap the benefits of working with an approved CDAP advisor.

What is CDAP?

The Canada Digital Adoption Program (CDAP) is a government grant program announced by the Canadian federal government in 2021. It is designed to help small-to-medium-sized businesses reach their full potential by developing an online presence and adopting digital technologies.

The goals of CDAP are to help businesses:

  • Transition their business online
  • Increase online sales
  • Implement security software
  • Better connect with customers online
  • Improve or develop their social media marketing strategies
  • Create a better online user experience
  • And more.

More specifically, some of the services that CDAP funding covers include the following:

The federal government has pledged $1.4 billion in grants for advisory services to small-to-medium enterprises, along with $2.6 billion in loans from the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC), to help implement your digital adoption plan.

How it Works

CDAP is comprised of two streams: 

  • Grow Your Business Online: This stream provides businesses with micro-grants of up to $2,400 to help cover the cost of the services of a designated eCommerce Advisor who will help businesses set up an eCommerce store and grow online sales. This stream is available to businesses that are registered or incorporated, for-profit, consumer-facing, offering some kind of services to customers, are employing a minimum of one employee, and have earned at least $30,000 in annual revenue during the past fiscal year.
  • Boost Your Business Technology: This stream covers 90% of a digital advisor’s services, up to $15,000. The digital advisor will help the business by developing a digital adoption plan. This stream is available to businesses that have generated at least $500,0000 in annual revenue, are incorporated federally or provincially, or run by a Canadian resident sole proprietor, are for-profit and privately owned, and have 499 full-time equivalents (FTE) employees.

Still unsure of which stream to apply for? Fill out the official CDAP grant assessment tool to determine which CDAP stream is right for your business.

Working With a CDAP Advisor

A group of approved digital advisors from Consultus Digital reviewing their CDAP boost your technology approved clients business materials in a meeting

In order to take advantage of the grant in this program, you would need to hire an approved CDAP digital adoption advisor. 90% of the fees (up to $15k) for the services provided by the CDAP advisor will be reimbursed with the funding your business receives through this grant.

The Consultus Digital Team is an approved CDAP advisor and can assist you with the application process and design a digital adoption plan that will help your business reach new heights.

How to Apply for CDAP

While our team of CDAP advisors has the knowledge and expertise to guide you through the application process and ensure your application is successful, it’s important to familiarize yourself with all the steps involved.

Applying for CDAP involves completing the following steps:

Make Sure You Meet All Program Requirements

It’s very important that you confirm that you are, in fact, eligible for one of two CDAP streams before proceeding with the application process. This ensures that you are applying for the correct stream and are not wasting your time applying for a program you are not eligible for.

If you meet the following criteria outlined below, you are most likely eligible for Grow Your Business stream of online CDAP funding:

  • Your business is for-profit (this includes for-profit social enterprises and co-operatives)
  • Your business is registered or incorporated
  • Your business works with customers and provides in-person services
  • Your business has at least one employee who is not the owner OR has generated at least $30,000 in annual revenue during the most recent tax year 
  • Your business is committed to maintaining its digital adoption strategy developed by a CDAP advisor for at least six months
  • Your business will commit to completing follow-up surveys, sharing data about its experience, and agree to have its name released publicly as a CDAP grant recipient

Note that the following businesses are not eligible for CDAP funding:

  • Corporate chains, franchises or registered charities
  • Multi-level marketing companies or their sales representatives
  • Real estate agents or brokerages
  • Online reselling businesses or businesses that are drop-shipping reliant on third-party suppliers
  • Wholesale or distribution business and manufacturer (with the exception of those selling directly to consumers

The CDAP Assessment Tool can also help you determine your eligibility.

Submit Application

For the Grow Your Business stream, to submit your application, connect with your local service provider in the province or region where your business operates. Your service provider will assist you with the application process.

To apply for the Boost Your Business Technology Grant, you must sign in with a GCKey or through a Sign-In Partner on the Government of Canada website to apply.

Applications Are Reviewed

Once applications are submitted, they will go through a screening process to make sure they were completed properly and meet all of the proper criteria. 

For applications that are deemed incomplete or do not meet the eligibility criteria, the applicants will be notified in writing that their application was unsuccessful.

Applications that were completed properly and meet all of the eligibility criteria are then evaluated using more defined assessment criteria. 

The results of this evaluation will help determine the applications that are accepted for CDAP funding, along with the government’s priorities and the available funding. Applicants that have been selected for CDAP funding will then be notified in writing. 

Start Working With a CDAP Advisor

Once you have been approved for CDAP funding, you will begin working with a CDAP advisor to develop and implement a digital adoption plan. 

Consultus Digital is an approved digital advisor in the CDAP program helping eligible applicants with digital marketing, CRM and sales enablement. It’s our goal to help you transform your business, reach new customers and develop an online presence through a digital adoption plan customized to your business. Contact us today to get started!

|Request More Information

You're one step closer to a FREE 20-minute consultation with an industry leader!


    Website Development For Self-Storage Companies - Consultus Digital
    Call for a free 20 minute consultationPhone Icon416-460-1810