How To Boost Your Business With $15K In Government Funding

Everything You Need to Know About Obtaining a CDAP Grant For Your Business

If your business was suddenly granted $15,000 to adopt new digital technologies, how would your business benefit? As you can imagine, the possibilities are endless.

For any small to medium-sized business, technology is essential to the business’s survival. However, it can be difficult for businesses that are used to the traditional brick-and-mortar business model to adapt and develop a strong online presence. 

This is why for many businesses, the kind of funding provided through the Canada Digital Adoption Program (CDAP) can be game-changing when utilized properly.

With a CDAP grant, businesses are given access to a Government approved digital adoption advisor who will guide them in the right direction and ensure their funding is invested properly. Wondering how to get started? Keep reading.

What is CDAP?

CDAP is an initiative created by the Canadian Federal Government designed to help small to medium-sized businesses adopt new digital technologies by providing up to $15,000 in funding. Over $4 billion has been pledged towards the program by the federal government over the next four years.

A CDAP grant must go towards the services of an approved CDAP advisor who will help your business develop a digital adoption plan.

A digital adoption plan will help your business:

• Develop and/or improve an online presence
• Boost eCommerce sales
• Digitize business operations

There are two streams within CDAP.

Stream 1- Grow Your Business Online

The Grow Business Online stream of the CDAP offers micro-grants of up to $2,400 to over 90,000 businesses in Canada. The micro-grant is to help Canadian businesses offset the cost of adopting digital technologies and work with a designated eCommerce Advisor.

Your advisor must help your business:

• Adopt digital technologies that will help your business better serve its existing customers while also attracting new customers to your website
• Explore eCommerce opportunities

Stream 2- Boost Your Business Technology

The Boost Your Business Technology grant provides businesses that earned a minimum of $500,000 annual revenue (in one of the last three years) with 90% of the cost (up to $15,000) of a digital adoption plan prepared by an approved digital advisor. Of note: the maximum revenue threshold for stream 2 of Boost Your Business Technology is $100,000,000.

This funding will cover the costs of:

• Employing the services of a digital advisor
• Creating digital strategies to help the business reach its goals and compete with other businesses
• Creating a report that outlines the cost of the digital adoption plan
• Developing a framework for training existing employees on how to implement the digital adoption plan
• Creating a roadmap for timelines, costs, resources, and more

Businesses accepted into the Boost Your Business Technology stream can also obtain a 0% interest loan of up to $100,000 CAD from the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC) to help implement their digital adoption plan.

Costs that are not covered by the CDAP grant include, but are not limited to, connectivity costs, shipping costs for goods purchased through the business’ eCommerce website or implementing any items in the created CDAP plan.

Who Is Eligible?

The Grow Your Business Online stream is only available to small businesses that are:

• a for-profit business
• registered or incorporated
• consumer-facing
• providing services to consumers
• employing a minimum of one employee or have generated at least $30,000 in annual revenue in the previous fiscal year. 

Participating businesses must also commit to maintaining a digital adoption strategy for six months after participating in CDAP and consent to:

• participating in follow-up surveys
• sharing information with the Government of Canada
• having the name of the business published as a recipient of funding

The Boost Your Business Technology stream is eligible for businesses that:

• are incorporated federally or provincially or run by a Canadian resident sole proprietor 
• are for-profit and privately owned
• Have 1-499 full-time equivalent (FTE) employees
• Have earned a minimum of $500,000 in annual revenues in one of the previous three tax years

Businesses that are ineligible for CDAP include:

• franchises and chain businesses
• registered charities and not-for-profit organizations
• multi-level marketing companies
• real estate brokerages and realtors

How to Apply 

While your CDAP advisor can help you with the application process, it’s important for you to understand what this process entails.

When applying for CDAP, you will complete the following steps:

Step 1 

Use the Canada Digital Adoption Program— Grant assessment tool to find out which stream you should apply for.

Step 2  

After you have used the assessment tool to find out which stream you are most eligible for, be sure to read through all of the eligibility criteria so that you know for sure that you qualify for CDAP.

Step 3 

This is where you begin the application process. For the Grow Your Business Online grant, you will apply through your local service provider in the province or region where your business is located. 

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.

Working With a CDAP Advisor

Interested in applying for the Canada Digital Adoption Program but still trying to figure out where to start and how to find a knowledgeable advisor to join you on this journey? Look no further than Consultus Digital!

Consultus Digital is an official CDAP advisor that will work with you to transform your business through digital technology. Our goal is to educate you on what the CDAP grant entails, guide you through the application process to help ensure your application is successful, then work with you after you have been accepted to develop a successful digital adoption plan. 

If you have any questions about digital marketing or are interested in applying to the Canada Digital Adoption Program (CDAP), contact us — the experts at Consultus Digital.