What is the Canada Digital Adoption Program?

In Budget 2021, the Government of Canada announced the $4 billion Canada Digital Adoption Program (CDAP) to help get your business online, give your e-commerce presence a boost or help digitalize your business's operations. CDAP provides funding and support to businesses, as well as training and work opportunities for young Canadians.

Visit the Canada Digital Adoption Program website today to learn more! https://www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/152.nsf/eng/home

What are the two Canada Digital Adoption Program grant streams? 

The Canada Digital Adoption Program (CDAP) can help get your business online, give your e-commerce presence a boost or help digitalize your business's operations.

The program offers two grants:

The Grow your Business Online program helps small businesses take advantage of e-commerce opportunities.

• You can access a network of e-commerce advisors for advice and support
• You can get up to $2,400 to buy new e-commerce tools 

The Boost Your Business Technology grant helps small and medium-sized businesses adopt new digital technologies.

• Use a free digital assessment tool to evaluate your own digital readiness
• Get up to $15,000 to consult a digital expert and develop a digital adoption plan for your business
• Get up to $100,000 in interest-free loans from BDC to implement your digital adoption plan
• Leverage a subsidized work placement to bring on a recent graduate or student to help with your digital transformation.

Learn more about the Canada Digital Adoption Program here. 

What is the Grow Your Business Online micro-grant?

Grow Your Business Online is a grant available to businesses under the Canada Digital Adoption Program. As a consumer-facing small businesses, you can receive help adopting new e-commerce tools.

Through the Grow Your Business Online grant, businesses can access:

• A network of e-commerce advisors to help assess your needs and discover new opportunities
• Microgrants of up to $2400 to cover the cost of adopting new digital technologies

Eligibility

What businesses are eligible for the Grow Your Business Online grant?

Applications can only be submitted by a small business that meets all of the following criteria:

• Is a for-profit business (including for-profit social enterprises and co-operatives)
• Is a registered or incorporated business
• Is a consumer-facing business
• Businesses that are not considered consumer-facing are those that focus primarily on wholesale trade or sell only to other businesses. Businesses that engage in drop shipping or online reselling are also not considered Consumer Facing
• Can be accessed by consumers or provides in-person services to consumers
• Has at least one employee or the Business had a gross annual revenue of at least $30,000 in the previous fiscal year
• Must commit to maintaining digital adoption strategy for six months after participation in the program
• Must consent to participating in follow-up surveys, sharing information with the Government of Canada (ISED and Statistics Canada), and having the name of the business published as a recipient of funding

What businesses are NOT eligible for the Grow Your Business Online grant?

 The following types of small businesses are ineligible:

• Corporate chains, franchises or registered charities
• Representatives of multi-level marketing companies
• Real estate brokerages
• Businesses that engage in online reselling or drop shipping businesses reliant on third party suppliers
• Wholesale or distribution businesses and manufactureers (Unless their business model includes direct sales to the end consumer)

What’s the definition of a consumer-facing business? 

Can be accessed by consumers or provides in-person services to consumers

What is the definition of a small business?

For the purposes of applying for a Grow Your Business Online grant, a small business is defined as having at least one employee. 

Can new businesses apply?

Yes! As long as your business is registered or incorporated, and you meet the other eligibility requirements, new businesses are welcome to apply. 

Is there a minimum revenue requirement for businesses to be eligible? 

No, there is no minimum revenue requirement, however, businesses must have at least one employee. 

Businesses are required to have one employee - does the owner count as an employee? 

 Has at least one employee on payroll that is not the owner or a contractor (full time or part time, but for at least three months prior to application)Businesses will have to provide proof of employment. 

Are you eligible to apply if your business is already receiving funding through other grant streams? 

Yes, if you have already applied for and/or are receiving funding through another grant stream, you may still apply for the Grow Your Business Online grant. Your grant application must be for a separate project and cannot overlap with other funding.

Digital Adoption

What types of investments can the grant be used for? 

The goal of the grant is to enable businesses to serve existing customers more effectively and to attract new customers in the digital marketplace. Eligible costs include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Costs related to the implementation of a digital e-commerce plan (e.g. online reservation/booking tools, online ordering systems, electronic payments);
• Costs related to website search optimization;
• Costs related to the installation of an e-commerce platform (including subscription fees/costs);
• Costs of back-office solutions to support an e-commerce strategy;
• Costs of social media advertising; and,
• Costs related to the creation of customer databases.

If you are unsure whether your investment is eligible for the Grow Your Business Online grant, please email us at or CDAP-PCAN@CBDC.CA call 1-888-401-7717

What types of investments are not eligible for this grant? 

Ineligible costs include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Costs of connectivity;
• Cost of existing e-commerce solutions or subscription lists; and,
• Costs related to the shipping of goods purchased through the e-commerce platform.

Can the grant be used to pay an employee or to hire a contractor to support digital adoption? 

No. The grant cannot be used for human resources to support a project. The grant funding must be used for programs and/or assets to support digital adoption and e-commerce. 

E-commerce advisors - For Businesses

What is an E-commerce advisor? 

An E-commerce advisor is trained to help your business better understand its e-commerce capabilities and to identify solutions to assist your businesses digitalization. 

How does my business access an E-commerce advisor?

As one of the first steps of the grant application process, small businesses will be paired with an E-commerce advisor to assess your digital needs and help develop your e-commerce strategies and deploy new digital technologies.

Do I need to work with an E-commerce advisor if I already have a strategy or staff members with expertise? 

After an initial meeting, businesses may opt-out from working with an E-commerce advisor as part of the Grow Your Business Online program and proceed solely with the grant application. It is highly recommended however that businesses take advantage of the expertise of an E-commerce advisor to support digitization. 

What kind of qualifications do the E-Commerce Advisors have? 

All E-commerce advisors receive training, developed, and delivered by Digital Main Street. They have the support and knowledge of some of the best in the industry to help develop an e-commerce strategy.

E-commerce advisors - For Students and Recent Graduates

Who is eligible to become an E-commerce advisor and how do I apply? 

The opportunity for training and work placements will be available to current post-secondary students and recent graduates. Those selected for the role will participate in training through Digital Main Street. 

To be eligible to become an E-commerce advisor, you must:

• be a Canadian Citizen, permanent resident, or person on whom refugee protection has been conferred under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act; 
• be legally entitled to work according to the relevant provincial/territorial legislation and regulations; and
• have a valid Social Insurance Number at the start of employment.

be one of the following:

• have graduated from high school and are planning on pursuing a post-secondary education;
• currently pursuing post-secondary education; or,
• have recently graduated from a post-secondary institution.

What kind of training will E-commerce advisors receive?

E-commerce advisors will receive training through Digital Main Street on several topics:

• Understanding the Grow Your Business Online Program
• Learning the capabilities of several e-commerce solutions and related tools
• Understanding the basics of cyber security
• Developing communication skills
• Determining an individual business's needs and values

Grant Applications and Processing 

How do I apply for a grant? 

Grant applications will be processed and adjudicated by the Canadian Digital Adoption Program team at cdap-pcan@cbdc.ca, using the application portal developed by Digital Main Street. The grant application can be accessed here. 

If I have questions who do I contact about my grant application 

Once you’ve submitted your grant application, the CDAP team at cdap-pcan@cbdc.ca will provide regular updates and communications about the status of your file. If you need to amend your application or have further questions, please contact the Canadian Digital Adoption Program team at cdap-pcan@cbdc.ca 

What is the deadline for grant applications? 

At this time there is no deadline for grant applications. Check back here for updates.

Will the grant be paid upfront or will it be a reimbursement? 

The grant will be provided as a reimbursement. Grant applicants will be required to submit an expense report, coinciding with their pre-approved spending plan and copies of any associated receipts and proof of payment documents.

How can I feel confident that my expenses will be approved for reimbursement before I spend the funds?

As part of your grant application you will be asked to submit a spending plan. Spending plans will be pre-approved.

Can I claim expenses retroactively, from purchases prior to applying for the grant?

No. Expenses cannot be incurred prior to the date of approval of your spending plan. 

How do I submit my reimbursement claim to receive the grant funds? 

Your grant reimbursement claim will be submitted through the application portal. You will receive information when you create an account and grant application and instructions will be provided. Please visit Link for more information. 

What is an acceptable receipt / proof of payment?

My expenses incurred are in US dollars. How will the exchange be calculated?

The exchange will be calculated based on the rate of the bank or credit card used to process the transaction. 

Does the $2,400 grant include reimbursement of taxes paid (eg. GST or PST)?

No. Tax charges will not be reimbursed. Grant payments will be issued based on the cost of the expense(s) before taxes.

Can I submit more than one expense to access the full $2,400 maximum?

Yes. You may submit more than one expense and receipt. The grant will reimburse a maximum of $2,400 before taxes.

Can someone else submit a grant application on behalf of my business (eg. a third-party consultant or vendor)?

No. Grant applications must be submitted by the business owner.

If I don’t get approved for this grant, are there other grants or opportunities available to help me get my business online? 

Yes. cbdc.ca offers a wide range of education and resources to support your business. You can review some of our upcoming opportunities here