What You Need to Know About the $100K CDAP 0% BDC Loan

With a recession expected to hit the Canadian economy within the next year, it’s crucial for small businesses to be proactive and develop a strong online presence in order to reach more customers and remain profitable during periods of uncertainty. The best way to do this is by working with certified digital advisors who can help your business transition online and adopt digital technologies.

But with such high-interest rates, it can be difficult for businesses to obtain financing that would fund such projects. This is where the Canada Digital Adoption Program (CDAP) 0% loan offered by the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC) comes in. 

Keep reading to learn more about CDAP and the 0% BDC loan. 

What is CDAP?

CDAP is a federal government program that helps Canadian businesses adopt new digital technologies by providing them with grants to fund digital adoption strategies.

CDAP grants must be used to employ a CDAP digital advisor who will develop a digital adoption plan that can help your business:

• Develop or grow its online presence
• Generate e-commerce sales
• Digitize its business operations
• And more.

There are two streams that fall under the Canada Digital Adoption Program – Grow Your Business Online and Boost Your Business Technology. The 0% BDC loan falls under the Boost Your Business Technology stream.

Below, we will explain more about what each stream entails.

Stream 1- Grow Your Business Online

The Grow Business Online stream provides eligible businesses with micro-grants of up to $2,400 to cover the costs of adopting digital technologies and working with an eCommerce Advisor. The eCommerce advisor must be approved by CDAP. 

The funding must go towards the following:

• Adopting digital technologies to help generate sales and bring new customers to your website
• Improve your eCommerce store

Stream 2- Boost Your Business Technology

The Boost Your Business Technology stream covers 90% of the cost of working with a digital advisor to create a digital adoption plan, up to $15,000. 

Eligible businesses must have generated at least $500,0000 in annual revenue over one of the previous three years reported to the CRA.

The Boost Your Business Technology grant allows you to work with a certified digital advisor to develop a digital adoption plan for your business that outlines the cost and roadmap of implementing digital strategies.

What is The $100K CDAP 0% Loan?

As a part of the Boost Your Business Technology stream, businesses that are accepted for this stream are also eligible for a 5-year 0% interest loan of up to $100,000 from BDC.

This loan is designed to help cover the costs of implementing digital solutions related to your Digital Solution Adoption Plan.

What The Loan Covers

The 0% interest loan covers the cost of services required for implementing a digital adoption plan. This can include:

• Purchasing IT equipment
• Installing new software and technology
• Expanding and bringing existing IT equipment up to date
• Providing training to staff regarding onboarded technologies
• Purchasing materials and support services in order to successfully onboard the new technology
• Additional advisory services required to implement the digital adoption plan

Eligibility

In order to receive CDAP Boost Your Business Technology funding, businesses must meet the following criteria:

• Completed a digital adoption plan through the Boost Your Business Technology steam
• As a part of the Canada Digital Adoption Program (CDAP) and have received your grant OR
• Under another program that is recognized as digital adoption and have submitted it to CDAP

Why You Should Apply

Not sure whether your SME business really needs to upgrade and utilize more digital tools? Consider the following:

Without a robust digital adoption strategy and online presence, your business will struggle to compete with the thousands of other businesses trying to stay afloat should a recession hit. 

There could be many technological solutions your business could be utilizing to accelerate your business presence and processes, as well as how your business and staff work – adopting a digital strategy is not a decision you will ever regret.

And with an interest-free loan worth up to $100,000 with 12 months of capital postponement from BDC, there really is no excuse not to take your business to the next level.

How to Apply

Once you’ve decided you want to take advantage of the CDAP grant and 0% interest-free loan from BDC, the next course of action is to begin the application process and follow the steps listed below:

1. Apply for funding on the Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED) website.
2. Once you’ve been approved by CDAP, begin working with an official Digital Adoption Advisor to create your digital adoption plan.
3. Submit your digital adoption plan for approval.
4. Once approved, submit your invoices to be compensated for up to $15,000 in advisory fees (90% is covered by the grant).
5. After your digital adoption plan is approved, you can apply for the BDC 0% interest loan by clicking on the personalized link sent to you via email.

Work With Consultus Digital to Begin Your Digital Adoption Journey

Ready to get started on your digital adoption plan? We’re here to help. Consultus Digital is a designated CDAP advisor that has been approved by the federal government to work with CDAP grant recipients to develop and implement digital adoption plans. 

We’ll work together to develop a robust plan for digitizing your business and show you how to implement it and maintain these technologies long-term.
Don’t wait – get in touch with our digital marketing experts today to get the process started right away so you can take your business to the next level.