The Canada Digital Adoption Program (CDAP) is a government initiative to help small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) adopt new digital technologies. The Canadian government has committed $4 billion to the program over the next four years.

If you’re a registered business in Canada (sole proprietorship or incorporated) with at least $30,000 revenue, you’re eligible for one grant (eligibility requirements opened up October 18, 2022).

If your business has one full-time equivalent employee and $500,000 revenue in one of the prior three years, you’re likely eligible for both grants.

The CDAP grant is composed of two streams, a microgrant which most companies with at least one employee are eligible for, and the larger Boost Your Business Technology grant with stricter eligibility criteria.

• Stream 1: $2,400 microgrant to implement digital marketing initiatives
• Stream 2: Up to $15,000 to hire an approved advisor to create a CDAP plan
• Wage Subsidy: $7,300 for a student work placement
• Interest-free Loan: Up to $100,000 to implement the plan

For Stream 2, Businesses must work with an approved digital advisor registered with CDAP. These are organizations that meet and maintains all of the required criteria to deliver digital advisory services. Approved advisors are required to provide vendor neutral advice and are subject to CDAP’s Code of Conduct. They will work with eligible SMEs to digital adoption plans which are required to meet the minimum viable elements identified in the CDAP digital adoption plan guide.

The official program site has a Grant Assessment Tool with these questions to determine which is right for you:

• Do you have between 1 and 499 employees?
• Which sector is your business in?
• Where is your head office located?
• What are you looking to do?
• Did you have annual revenues between $500,000 and $100,000,000 in any of the past three tax years?

Stream 1 is intended for customer-facing businesses who haven’t yet adopted digital tech or are looking to improve, with funding to support up to 90,000 businesses. This microgrant of $2,400 has a requirement of $30,000 revenue in the most recent tax year. Sole proprietors are eligible.

Stream 2 is designed to help SMEs adopt new digital technologies and strategies as part of an adoption plan, so the grant is much larger. It’s best suited for businesses with high operational costs and the business is in need of capital and outside, independent expertise to move technology forward.

Stream 1 benefits most businesses looking to improve their technology.

Businesses are paired with a government appointed advisor (not to be confused with a CDAP Advisor for Stream 2) who will work with you to determine where to invest your funds.

The microgrant can be spent on a variety of tech initiatives.

Eligible costs include website upgrades, web design, search engine optimization (SEO), eCommerce implementation, online reservation and bookings, social media support, digital advertising, and fees for eCommerce platforms and software including a portion of POS systems. See a list of eligible and ineligible expenses on our CDAP Stream 1 page.

Originally the grant was to hire only a government supplied student “e-Commerce advisor”, but as of June 2022 this has opened up to allow the hiring of digital marketing consultants and agencies.

Stream 2 for up to $15,000 is to hire an approved CDAP digital advisor to analyze the current state, and then create a plan and recommendations for implementation of new technologies. It differs from Stream 1 in that the funds are to develop the plan only, and not for implementation.

If you choose to work with AltaCom for this grant stream, we are currently offering a credit towards implementation services. Contact us for more details.

The grant is to be used towards:

• Providing support during the grant application process to maximize funding.
• Completing a digital needs assessment to review your operations, current technology and business strategy to identify where you can benefit most and what to prioritize.
• Research and recommend technology solutions to fit your business and budget, including a cost / benefit analysis of the top options. Areas Big Cedar has expertise in are marketing strategy, SEO, content strategy,  website optimizations, CRM, booking systems, analytics, Google Workspace integration and SAAS / platform recommendations.
• Developing a comprehensive digital strategy and roadmap with steps, timelines, and resources to achieve your business objectives – which can be implemented with a loan of up to $100,000 from BDC depending on revenues.

For the Boost Your Business Technology grant of $15,000 + $7,300 for a student work placement:

• 30 minute application (must be completed by the owner or a director)
• 2 hours onboarding
• 30 minutes to provide digital access
• 4-6 weeks to develop the plan
• 2-4 hours presentation of findings and assessments
• 1-2 hours to hire a student
• 30 minutes to apply for the BDC loan (optional, done online after CDAP plan submission)