FedDev Ontario Business Scale-up and Productivity (BSP) Program
Receive up to $10,000,000 in Government Funding.
IMPORTANT: This program has been changed to have applicants apply directly to FedDev Ontario. This update to the funding program offers a variety of programs tailored to accommodate your business initiatives. Interested parties are can now submit an application to the FedDev Ontario government funding agency, whereby the funding agency will then align your project with the most suitable program. Visit the main FedDev Ontario page to learn more about program details.
The FedDev Ontario Business Scale-up and Productivity (BSP) program offsets upfront project costs and helps southern Ontario businesses grow more quickly. It provides no-interest repayable contributions (government loans) with repayment beginning within a year of project completion. This supports businesses as they adopt new, innovative technologies that support scale-up, productivity, and the development of and entry into new markets to become globally competitive.
The Business Scale-up and Productivity program provides southern Ontario business expansion loans of up to 35% of project costs to a maximum $10 million.
To apply for BSP funding, eligible applicants must develop and submit a comprehensive application package that consists of the program’s main application form, financial statements for the last two full years of operation, and the most recent interim financial statement available.
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FedDev Ontario BSP Program
Amount of Funding
The Business Scale-up and Productivity program provides southern Ontario businesses with no-interest repayable contributions (government loans) of up to 35% of project costs to a maximum $10 million.
If accepted into the program, applicants can receive funding to directly offset incurred business expansion project costs. Companies access funding by reporting approved project expenses, then receive a contribution of up to 35% of those costs. Funding is provided to companies throughout the project and must be repaid once the project is complete. Generally, applicants can begin repayment up to one year after the completion of their project.
FedDev Ontario BSP Program
Eligible Applicants
To qualify for funding through FedDev Ontario’s Business Scale-up and Productivity (BSP) program, companies must:
- Have profitable operations in southern Ontario for the previous two consecutive years;
- Maintain a minimum of five full-time employees;
- Be provincially or federally incorporated or an Indigenous-owned business;
- Have financial capacity to complete the project, provide a minimum 35% contribution, and repay the government contribution in full;
- Have a viable project plan and have organizational capacity to complete it; and
- Have market or industry demand to support new technology/business expansion.
FedDev Ontario BSP Program
Eligible Activities
Projects Supported by BSP in Southern Ontario
To be eligible for Business Scale-up and Productivity (BSP), companies must plan to use its funding to support projects and activities such as:
- Acquiring, adopting, or adapting innovative technologies (including digitization and automation);
- Late-stage technology development to support new markets and/or industrial applications;
- Demonstrating innovative technologies and/or processes in an operational setting;
- Commercializing/producing new innovative products, processes, or services;
- Customer and market development, expansion or diversification to support business growth and integration in global value chains and an initial sale; and
- Increasing business management capacity by building high-performance teams, adopting best management practices, processes, and systems.
Please Note: Technology development, demonstration, and commercialization activities must fall within a technology readiness level (TRL) of 7-9.
Expense Eligibility for FedDev Ontario’s BSP Program
To develop a strong project proposal for the Business Scale-up and Productivity program, applicants should build a budget that consists of project-related expenses including:
- Labour;
- Consulting Fees;
- Capital; and
- Non-capital expenses.
Expenses Ineligible for BSP Funding Support
Some cost categories will not be considered for funding support through the Business Scale-up and Productivity program. These include:
- Any costs that are unreasonable or not directly related to the eligible project activities;
- Regular capital expenditures and asset replacement;
- Regular maintenance and ongoing operation costs;
- Costs incurred prior to the contribution agreement’s eligibility date;
- Research and development activities in a lab setting;
- Amortization and goodwill;
- Acquisition of land and buildings; and
- Refinancing existing debt.
FedDev Ontario BSP Program
Program Deadline
Southern Ontario businesses can apply for the Business Scale-up and Productivity program throughout the year; unlike other Ontario government funding programs, there are no application deadlines to be aware of. Instead, companies should submit their application in relation to their project start date.
Applicants must submit an application package prior to incurring eligible project expenses.
Applications are generally assessed based on the applicant’s overall eligibility and ability to deliver project-related impacts such as increased domestic and foreign sales, development or licensing of intellectual property, and job creation.
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