Canada Digital Adoption Program Grant

$2,400
Digital Main Street (DMS)

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Description

The Grow Your Business Online grant will help small businesses across Ontario take advantage of e-commerce opportunities. Eligible businesses will receive a micro-grant of up to $2,400 to help with the costs related to adopting digital technologies. Grants will be available through Digital Main Street. DMS will also support a network of e-commerce advisors who will advise and help small businesses adopt e-commerce.

Requirements

  1. Is a registered or incorporated business
  2. 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)
  3. Can be accessed by consumers or provides in-person services to consumers
  4. Has at least one employee on payroll that isn’t the owner or a contractor (full time or part time, but for at least three months prior to application)
  5. Must commit to maintaining digital adoption strategy for six months after participation in the program
  6. 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
  7. Solopreneurs are now welcome to apply for the program as long as their business had at least $30,000 in annual revenue in the most recent tax year (2021).

Eligible Activities

Please note that all eligible costs must show a direct tie in to implementing a new e-commerce store in your proposed spending plan Eligible costs include:
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  1. Costs related to the implementation or improvement of a digital e-commerce plan (e.g. online reservation/booking tools, online ordering systems, electronic payments) E-commerce software including:
  2. Software to track and manage product inventory, as well as fulfill and ship orders Software for product databases
  3. Software to track sales, market to customers, offer discounts, maintain a loyalty programs
  4. Software to simplify marketing
  5. Cyber Security software or certifications
  6. Hardware and accompanying software up to 20% of total grant amount - (Examples of limited coverage for software, would be any software that is bought with the equipment that is required to support an e-commerce strategy. For instance, if a small business buys a new e-commerce integrated point of sale (POS) system that costs $1,300 (including software) as a part of their $2400 plan, CDAP will reimburse 20% of the grant (in this case $480) for hardware)
  7. Costs related to website search optimization. (Note: plan cannot be strictly search optimization, it needs to be tied to overall e-commerce implementation plan, and not a standalone item)
  8. Costs related to the installation of an e-commerce platform (including subscription fees/costs
  9. Costs of back-office solutions to support an e-commerce strategy
  10. Costs of social media advertising (Note: plan cannot be strictly social media advertising, it needs to be tied to overall e-commerce implementation plan, and not a standalone item)
  11. Costs related to the creation of customer databases
  12. Hiring a consultant/agency to execute Digital Marketing initiatives related to your e-commerce store
  13. Development of new e-commerce website
  14. Upgrading existing e-commerce site for added functionality (i.e., new plugins, or features) (Please note redesign of an existing site is not eligible)
  15. Software required to implement e-commerce solution (Note: all software must be directly tied to the selling of goods and services online, and you will need to clearly outline this in your submitted plan)

Ineligibility

The following types of small businesses are ineligible:
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  1. Corporate chains, franchises or registered charities
  2. Representatives of multi-level marketing companies
  3. Real estate brokerages
  4. Businesses that engage in online reselling or drop-shipping businesses reliant on third party suppliers
  5. Wholesale or distribution businesses and manufacturers (unless their business model includes direct sales to the end consumer) Ineligible costs include:
  6. Costs of connectivity
  7. Costs related to the shipping of goods purchased through the e-commerce platform
  8. Purchases made prior to grant approval
  9. Office Software (e.g., Microsoft Office, iWork, Google Workspace, etc.)
  10. Renewal of digital services such as domain name, software subscription etc.
  11. This includes existing e-commerce subscriptions
  12. Signage and printing
  13. Logo redesign and rebranding
  14. Business Owner’s salary or current employee salary for executing the project
  15. Costs of land, building or vehicle purchase
  16. Costs of intangible assets such a goodwill, whether capitalized or expensed
  17. Depreciation or amortization expenses
  18. Interest on invested capital, bonds, or debentures
  19. Bond discount
  20. Monthly mortgage, loan and/or rent payments
  21. Refinancing of an existing debt
  22. Losses on investments, bad debts, and any other debts
  23. Fines or penalties
  24. Costs related to litigation
  25. Fees for administrators including payments to any member or officer of the
  26. Recipient’s Board of Directors
  27. Opportunity costs
  28. Hospitality and entertainment costs
  29. Franchise fees and/or franchise license costs
  30. Lobbyist fees
  31. New capital expenditure
  32. Consulting fees for submission of CDAP application or any costs not related to the acquisition or set up of technology solution