Resource Tools for the Small Business Industrial Sector
From the business coaching professionals at Mentor Works Ltd.
Browse the financing options for small business gathered by Mentor Works Business Coaching. The following is a list of government services, funding programs and expert centres for industrial sector businesses in Ontario. Small business financing programs include both federal and provincial funding.
| Apprenticeship Employer Signing Bonus | The $2,000 Employer Signing Bonus initiative is designed to encourage employers in the trades to register new apprentices in sectors where there is a high demand for skilled workers. |
| Apprenticeship Training Tax Credit | A refundable tax credit for corporations and unincorporated businesses employing apprentices in certain skilled trades during the first 36 months of an apprenticeship program. |
| Canada-Ontario Business Service Centre | Information on federal and provincial government programs, services and regulations, as well as hundreds of categorized links to both government and non-government sites. There are also a number of helpful Internet-based tools for business. |
| Community Futures Development Corporations in Ontario | A comprehensive list of links to CFDC offices throughout Ontario. The CFDC operates as a source of financing (loans of up to $150,000 to a single business) when conventional business financing is not available. |
| Eastern Ontario Development Fund – Business Stream | For existing businesses that meet certain criteria this fund can provide up to 15% of project expenses for new technologies, new equipment, or skills training for employees that will drive your competitiveness and help your company grow.Also visit – Eastern Ontario Development Fund – MEDT |
| Energy Incentives for Ontario Businesses | A list of a variety of incentive programs for energy conservation and other “green” initiatives.Also visit – Energy – Government Programs |
| MaRS – Market Research | Free mentorship and business training for business owners with a new service innovative concept. MaRS helps a range of social entrepreneurs build and grow their businesses – to generate specific social or environmental benefits as well as revenue. |
| Metis Wage Subsidy Program | Assist clients who are having difficulties accessing employment due to factors such as lack of recent work experience or shortage of work. A subsidy is provided to the employer in order to provide valuable on the job work experience. The program duration is 24 weeks. |
| MITACS Accelerate | A unique cost-shared R&D internship program which connects companies with Canadian universities’ research expertise, in all disciplines. During 4, 8, or 12-month research projects, interns (graduate students or post-doctoral fellows) bring a new perspective and the latest knowledge to a research challenge faced by the partner, in a wide range of areas including manufacturing, technical innovation, business processes, IT, social sciences, design and many more. |
| Ontario Business Program Guide | Listing of all government programs with links to program description, eligibility requirements, funding and application details. |
| Ontario Ministry of Small Business & Consumer Services | Resources to help Ontario’s small and medium enterprises (SMEs) for success both domestically and abroad. |
| Ontario Self-Employment Benefit Program | Provides unemployed people who are or have recently been eligible for Employment Insurance with income and entrepreneurial support while they develop and start their business. The ministry will resume accepting applications for the program in Spring of 2010. |
| Sources of Financing Tool | Find government assistance specific to your business needs by using this tool to search a comprehensive database of government financing programs for business by region. |
| Summer Jobs Service | This program provides a $2/hour hiring incentive for employers who hire a student during the summer. Jobs can last up to 16 weeks beginning in April and ending by September 30. |
| Youth Employment Opportunities in Ontario | A list of a variety of youth employment programs in Ontario for 2010. |
| Aboriginal Business Canada (ABC) | Aboriginal Business Canada provides financial assistance and business support to Aboriginal entrepreneurs. |
| Canada Business Gateway | Federal government website for all the government services—federal and provincial—and information needed to start, run and grow a business. Access to business planning and market research resources. |
| Canada Small Business Financing Program | Loans for establishing, expanding, modernizing and improving small businesses. Under the program, a small business must apply for a loan at a financial institution of its choice. |
| Canadian Technology Network | In Quebec, CTN is a network of more than 300 experts in technology and business to advise innovative SMEs by providing them with rapid access to specialized resources likely to contribute to their success. |
| Canadian Youth Business Foundation (CYBF) | National charity providing start-up mentoring, financing and business resources to help young Canadians between the ages of 18 and 34 years of age. |
| Community Futures Development Corporation (CFDC) – Business Financing Program | The CFDC operates as a source of financing (loans of up to $150,000 to a single business) when conventional business financing is not available. |
| Expansion Financing for Youth | If you are an existing CYBF entrepreneur requiring additional funding, between 36 to 60 months into operation, and want to expand your business, the CYBF offers expansion financing up to $10 000. |
| Industry Canada | Information and links to federal and provincial small business initiatives. Details marketplace legalities for new businesses and information about market research and statistics. |
| MERX | MERX is the most complete source of public tenders, private tenders and private-sector construction available in Canada. It includes contracting opportunities with the federal government, participating provincial, municipal governments and the private sector including municipal, academic, school boards and hospitals from across Canada. |
| Opportunities Fund for Persons with Disabilities | The Opportunities Fund is a program designed to help people with disabilities prepare for and obtain employment or self-employment. It also assists people to develop the skills they need to keep a new job.Also see: Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP) Employment Supports – Self Employment Component |
| Small Business Finance Centre | List of some Canadian government grants and loans available for businesses. Not a government website. |
| Small Business Internship Program | The SBIP provides small and medium-sized enterprises financial support to hire a post secondary student intern to assist them in their adoption of e-business strategies to increase their productivity and competitiveness. The amount of the government support is to a maximum of $10,000. |
| Succession Financing for Youth | CYBF’s Succession Loans must meet the same criteria as the Start-up Loans, with one exception – the youth has until the end of the fifth year of operation to attain 51% ownership in the Company financed by CYBF. (Under normal Start-up criteria, the youth must have 51% ownership at inception.) |
| Targeted Wage Subsidy Program | The Targeted Wage Subsidy Program enables employers to hire individuals who face barriers to employment by offering temporary wage subsidies, and assists individuals experiencing difficulty in finding work to benefit from on-the-job work experience. |
| Youth Employment Strategy | Financial assistance to innovative Canadian small and medium enterprises (SMEs) for the hiring of post-secondary graduates to work on innovation projects in these companies. |
| Canada’s Economic Action Plan – Budget 2009 – Tax Break for Manufacturing on CCA | The federal government is helping Canadian manufacturers and processers by extending the temporary 50-percent straight-line accelerated capital cost allowance (CCA) rate to investment in eligible manufacturing or processing machinery and equipment undertaken in 2010 and 2011. |
| Economic Action Plan – Community Adjustment Fund | EcoAction encourages projects that protect, rehabilitate or enhance the natural environment, and build the capacity of communities to sustain activities into the future. Projects require matching funds or in-kind support from other sponsors. One deadline per year – November 1st. |
| IRAP and Youth Employment Program | Additional funding to the National Research Council’s Industrial Research Assistance Program (NRC-IRAP) will enable it to temporarily expand its initiatives for small and medium-sized enterprises. NRC-IRAP will receive total additional funding of $200 million over two years, starting in 2009-2010. From this incremental funding, the program will provide $170 million over two years for contributions to companies. Another $30 million will help companies hire over 1,000 new post-secondary graduates. |
| Sustainable Development Technology Canada | Funding support for the development and demonstration of clean technologies – solutions that address issues of clean air, greenhouse gases, clean water, and clean soil to deliver environmental, economic and health benefits to Canadians. |
| Advanced Manufacturing Investment Strategy Program | Interest free loans to transform manufacturing processes and adopt leading edge technologies. $10M interest free loans for up to five years. |
| Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters (CME) SMART Program | The SMART Program supports productivity improving projects such as lean design and lean manufacturing, quality improvement, energy efficiency, IT best practices, and environmental impact reduction.Projects of any size can be proposed for funding, but SMART Funding is only available up to 50% of project costs or $50,000, whichever is less. |
| Export Access Program | Assists small to medium size organizations to access and expand their growth in new foreign markets that are beyond the United States. |
| Growing Forward – Food Safety and Traceability Initiative | Helps producers and processors respond to market demands, and improve product tracking, by supporting facility-level traceability systems with up to $30k support for computer software and systems support. The Food Safety and Traceability Initiative is no longer able to accept applications for Year 2 (2010-11) funding. |
| Ministry of Research and Innovation – Investment Accelerator Fund | Helps Ontario based, start up and early stage technology companies bring their products and services to market through investments of up to $500K. |
| Yves Landry Foundation | In partnership with the Ontario Government, the Yves Landry Foundation is making available up to $50,000 per project in the form of a grant to foster training that will lead to advancements in innovation within the manufacturing sector in Ontario. |
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