Futurpreneur Receives $600K Top Up for Nova Scotia

From a pandemic to rising inflation to higher interest rates, it is a difficult time for Canadian entrepreneurs and their businesses. If you’re based out of Nova Scotia, you might just have some support to get you through these difficult times. Futurpreneur’s funding program recently received a $600K top-up from the province.

Did you know Futurpreneur has been funding small and medium businesses since 1996? Since their inception, they’ve supported 17,700+ young entrepreneurs and launched 13,900+ businesses.

With the aim of fuelling Nova Scotia’s economy, the government has decided to add $600K to Futurpreneur’s budget and support startup funding across the province.

Renewed Funding Expected to Launch New Businesses

According to Futurpreneur, renewed funding from Nova Scotia is predicted to launch up to 120 businesses over the next three years.  With this continued partnership, the province anticipates increased support for young business owners from diverse backgrounds, with a specific focus on Black and Indigenous entrepreneurs.

The investment from the government is a three-year agreement at $200,000 per year.

The non-profit organization provides collateral-free financing, a two-year mentorship program, and other relevant resources to entrepreneurs between the ages of 18 to 39. Previously, within Nova Scotia, Futurpreneur helped young entrepreneurs launch above 650 businesses.

Eligibility Criteria

To qualifies for Futurpreneur funding, business owners must be aged between 18-39 years old, and must be Canadian citizens or under the Permanent Residency status.

Additional eligibility requirements include:

• Demonstrate experience related to their business idea;
• Agree to work with a mentor for up to two years;
• Produce a fully functioning business plan by the end of the application process;
• Agree to complete monthly updates for Futurpreneur;
• Allow Futurpreneur to carry out credit checks;
• Ensure that the business is not in the Research & Development (R&D) stage and that the financing will not be going towards past debt incurred; and
• Operate the business for less than 12 months.

Funding Amount

Successful applicants may receive up to $20,000 through Futurpreneur and up to $40,000 via Business Development Canada (BDC), for a maximum total of $60,000 per business. Futurpreneur partnered with BDC to increase funding amounts and improve the terms of their offers. Similarly, the government of Nova Scotia has partnered up with Futurpreneur to spread out their impact across the province.

Futurpreneur:

• Maximum loan of $20,000 CAD, given with a five-year term;
• Interest will be charged at CIBC’s prime rate + 3.00%;
• The first year will be interest-only payments; and
• A one-time loan management fee of 1% of the total loan amount is charged at the time of disbursement.

BDC:

• A maximum loan of $40,000 in financing;
• Interest-only payments for the first year;
• Interest will be charged at BDC’s Floating Base Rate* + 1.65%; and
• Once a year (non-cumulative) on the anniversary date of the loan authorization date, you may repay 15% of the principal outstanding without indemnity.

For a comprehensive review of the loan criteria, please visit the Futurpreneur program page.

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