New $50-million Federal Export program aims to facilitate international expansion

Last month, the federal government has introduced a new funding program that aims to incentivize small and medium-sized Canadian enterprises to diversify their export markets and increase competitiveness on a global scale. This new five-year program, aptly named CanExport, promises to offer up to $50M in financing to Canadian SMEs to expand their business opportunities abroad, especially in high-growth economies.

This program will provide $10,000 to $100,000 in matching non-repayable contributions annually to help eligible SMEs undertake development activities in a new export market. In addition, the government funding will not exceed 50% of the total eligible project costs, which is fairly standard for federal grant programs.

To be eligible for this new funding initiative, companies must satisfy the following criteria:

Eligibility Criteria:

1. Number of full-time employees: 0-500

2. Revenues : $100,000-$100M

3. For-profit corporation

4. Industry: All except Agriculture, Food and Alcohol related sectors

5. Must target a country in which you have not done business in for the past 24 months

   1. Certain regions within Brazil, India, and China will be treated as separate markets.

Moreover, claimants must be conducting specific activities that aim to promote business development in a global setting and that must not be part of their core operational business activities.

Eligible Activities:

1. Business Travel

2. Trade fair participation

3. Market research and marketing tools

4. Legal fees for international distribution and representation

How R&D Partners Can Help

If you have any further questions or comments about this new funding program, please do not hesitate to contact Sahar Ansary at R&D Partners at 1-800-500-7733 for assistance.