February 19, 2024 - The Canada Digital Adoption Program (CDAP) is no longer accepting new applications for the Boost Your Business Technology stream.
Please refer to ISED’s webpage or consult the FAQ below for more details.
What is CDAP?
The Canada Digital Adoption Program (CDAP), by Innovation Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED), helps small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) adopt digital technologies. Businesses with a signed grant agreement to CDAP’s Boost Your Business Technology stream prior to February 19, 2024 may be eligible to receive a grant2 to build their digital plan, followed by a 0% loan of up to $100,0001 to implement it.
Program eligibility
Intake for new Boost Your Business Technology applications within the Canada Digital Adoption Program (CDAP) is closed. You can only log into the CDAP portal if you are eligible.
Eligible
- you have a valid grant agreement
- you completed your digital adoption plan and are ready to submit your grant claim
- your grant claim was approved and you want to apply for the BDC 0% interest loan and/or a wage subsidy to hire an employee
Non-eligible
- you are a new applicant
- you started an application but did not reach the point of signing your grant agreement
- you have an expired grant agreement
Next steps
You must have a valid, signed grant agreement before February 19, 2024.
1. Build a digital adoption plan
You must build your plan with an ISED-approved partner. BDC’s Advisory Services team is one of CDAP’s network of approved partners and can show you how to digitize your business and achieve your strategic goals. We provide the tools and knowledge to support your digital adoption initiatives in a hands-on approach.
2. Obtain your grant
Submit your digital adoption plan and invoices to ISED for approval and they'll disburse a grant of up to $15,000 to cover your advisory fees2.
3. Apply for the BDC 0% interest loan
Once your plan is approved, login to the CDAP portal on ISED’s site to gain access to BDC’s link to apply for a loan of up to $100,0001.
You will be redirected to Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada's (ISED) website. Loan only available upon completion of an approved digital adoption plan.
Putting the BDC 0% interest loan to work
The loan must be used to cover costs directly related to your digital plan like:
- Acquiring IT equipment
- Installation of new technologies
- Updating and/or expanding IT equipment
- Training staff on onboarded technologies
- Materials and support services directly related to onboarding the technology
- Further advisory services on particular aspects of the digital adoption plan
Frequently asked questions
Program closure
To participate, you must have a valid, signed grant agreement before February 19, 2024 to be eligible for the ISED grant and BDC’s 0% loan.
You must have completed your application and signed a grant agreement before the closing date and stay within the program deadlines3 in order to be eligible for the ISED grant and BDC’s 0% loan offer. Extensions are not permitted.
You are still eligible for the program provided your grant agreement is still valid (not expired). Please be mindful of the CDAP program deadlines3 to submit expenses for the ISED grant and for the 0% BDC loan application. Extensions are not permitted.
For more information on how to use technology to increase sales, efficiency and retention you can read our article : What is digital adoption
Provided you have successfully qualified by signing your grant agreement before February 19, 2024 and respected all program deadlines3 specified in your agreement, you should be eligible to apply for the ISED grant and the BDC 0% loan offer once your digital plan and invoices have been submitted. Extensions are not permitted.
Please refer to ISED’s Terms and Conditions of the Boost Your Business Technology grant agreement for more information.
I want to know more about the digital adoption plan
The responses below apply only if you have a signed grant agreement prior to February 19, 2024 .
Yes, BDC is one of the registered service providers on the Digital Advisors Marketplace. If your business is deemed eligible for the Boost Your Business Technology stream, you will have access to a curated list of service providers that are right for you on the Digital Advisors Marketplace. You can then select the service provider that meets your needs.
Please note that selecting BDC as an advisor will not affect your chances of qualifying for a zero-interest loan. All businesses are treated equally, whether they are existing BDC clients or not.
You will have 6 months from the time your Digital Adoption Plan is approved by ISED to complete your loan application with BDC.
If you exceed this timeframe, you will be ineligible for the loan.
I want to know more about the BDC zero-interest loan
Zero-interest loan of up to $100,000 with a 5-year term + 12 months capital postponement (total of 6 years).
The amount of the loan is determined by the size of your business and to qualify, you must have at least $500K of annual income as of the closing date of your last fiscal year-end. If your annual gross revenues as of the closing date of its last fiscal year-end are:
- between $500,000 and below $5M, you can request a loan of between $25,000 and $50,000
- $5M and more, you can request a loan between $25,000 and $100,000
While you may apply for a loan for multiple businesses, note that you are limited to a maximum loan of $200,000 per borrowing group4.
The loan must be used solely to implement the recommendations from your digital adoption plan that is recognized by the CDAP Boost Your Business Technology stream.
Please note that although the loan request is being made under CDAP, applicants must meet CDAP eligibility criteria and BDC loan terms and credit worthiness requirements to receive a loan offer.
You can create your digital adoption plan, receive the grant that covers up to 90% of advisory services and then decide against the zero-interest loan. Participating in the digital plan portion of CDAP does not oblige you to apply for a loan. If you move forward to implement your plan, you can also source the required funds from your own cashflow or from your regular financial institutions.
The first step before applying for the loan is to have a digital adoption plan that is recognized by the CDAP Boost Your Business Technology stream.
Once your digital adoption plan has been reviewed and approved by CDAP, login to the CDAP portal to gain direct access to BDC’s 0% financing form.
Please note that although the loan request is being made under CDAP, applicants must meet CDAP eligibility criteria and BDC loan terms and credit worthiness requirements in order to receive a loan offer.
The program eligibility is only one step in the process of making the loan request.
Your business may be declined for multiple reasons. For example, it may not have met BDC’s credit worthiness criteria (ex: credit history, etc.).
Please note that although the loan request is being made under CDAP, applicants must meet CDAP eligibility criteria and BDC loan terms and credit worthiness requirements to receive a loan offer.
Also, as the CDAP zero-interest loan is part of a standard loan application, standard banking practices apply. A declined loan request is reflected in your credit score. This is part of the consent you provide when applying for the loan.
1Loan amount is based on size of business: Business with revenues between $500,000 and less than $5M as of the closing date of its last fiscal year-end can request a loan between $25,000 and $50,000, Businesses with revenues $5M and more as of the closing date of its last fiscal year-end can request a loan between $25,000 and $100,000. While you may apply for a loan for multiple businesses, note that you are limited to a maximum loan of $200,000 per borrowing group. Loan only available upon completion of an approved digital adoption plan. In addition to Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada's (ISED) approval process, applicants must meet BDC’s loan terms, credit worthiness and eligibility criteria to get a 0% interest loan. Five-year term loan with the possibility to postpone principal payments for 12 months at the start of the loan.
2Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED) is responsible for approving digital adoption plans and providing grant money. The grant covers 90% of the eligible cost of the advisory service, up to a maximum amount of $15,000 per SME.
3Please refer to ISED’s Terms and Conditions of the Boost Your Business Technology grant agreement for more information.
4A borrowing group is defined as a group of clients who have a loan with BDC and are related by common shareholders or financial statements. Examples include: common shareholders, common security or common personal or corporate guarantors. Shared credit accommodations (e.g., where one Client is a co-borrower on a line of credit, a common bank account, etc.).