We are officially living in a digital-first world, and government organizations across Canada have established new business grants and funding opportunities in support of a wide range of digital adoption projects. These grant opportunities are designed to nurture creative innovation and help Canadian businesses stay competitive in today’s global marketplace. If you’ve ever looked into or applied for a small business grant in Canada, you know that sifting through mountains of information can be hugely time-consuming, and seriously confusing. So, we’ve done the hard work for you, compiling our research into this comprehensive guide outlining new business grants in Canada that can help fund your digital adoption projects, this year. Whether you’re looking for Ontario small business support grants, or creative small business grants in BC, this comprehensive guide highlights some of the most exciting digitally-focused small business grants in Canada available in 2022, and beyond.
Full-Service Digital Solutions, From Grant Application to Project Execution
PaintedRobot is here to help you take advantage of these once-in-a-lifetime funding opportunities with our 360 digital services. First, we’ll give you all the tools you need to apply for small business grants in Canada through our program development and grant-writing services. Then, we’ll design custom, cutting-edge solutions to execute your digital adoption plan seamlessly. Interested? Keep reading for an overview of digital adoption small business grants available in your region. If your business could benefit from digital adoption, or if you have an innovative digital project in mind, contact PaintedRobot today. Let’s bring your vision to life!
Canadian Small Business Grants in 2022
- Ontario Creates Industry Development Program
Deadline: August 11, 2022 by 5 pm - Ontario Creates Interactive Digital Media Fund
Deadline: August 29, 2022 by 5 pm - Tourism Relief Fund
Deadline: March 31, 2023
- Manitoba Accessibility Fund
Deadline: April 15, 2022 - Creative BC Interactive Fund
Deadline: May 26, 2022 - Atlantic Canada Business Grants
Deadline: March 31, 2023
- Boost Your Business Technology Grant
Open Spring 2022 – 2025 - Boost Your Business Online Micro Grant
Open Spring 2022 – 2025 - CanExport
Open Now, No Set Deadline
Ontario Small Business Grants
Ontario Creates Industry Development Program – Deadline: August 11, 2022 by 5 pm
The Ontario Creates Industry Development Program provides support to Ontario’s established trade and event organizations to offer initiatives, events and activities with long-term impacts on growth and sustainability in the film, television, magazine, book and interactive digital media sectors.This innovative Ontario business grant opportunity offers two streams of funding.
Program Streams:
- Business Development – Supports organizations for business to business (B2B) industry activities and business to consumer (B2C) audience development activities that offer opportunities for new business leads, sales and relationships.
- Capacity Building – Supports strategic activities that address challenges and opportunities that contribute to either the capacity of the applicant organization or its stakeholder group.
PaintedRobot can help your organization’s project development in both streams, with our capacity-building ERP systems, native mobile app development services and digital business solutions including web design, digital marketing, email marketing, search, social and paid ads. We can even help you apply and write the grant, too. To learn more about what we can do for you, our list of services and case studies from our recent client projects here.
Ontario Creates Interactive Digital Media Fund – Deadline: August 29, 2022 by 5 pm
The Ontario Creates Interactive Digital Media (IDM) Fund provides an Ontario business support grant to IDM content creators for high quality, original interactive digital media content projects that make a positive contribution to the Ontario economy. Funding is available in two streams designed to support the Concept Definition and Production of market-ready digital content that will be released or sold to end users once production is complete.
The Interactive Digital Media Fund will support interactive digital media projects that…
- Support cultural connections
- Entertain, inform, or educate
- Target consumers, groups of consumers, or educational institutions
- Are revenue-generating
Applicable projects include the development of mobile applications, websites, and web series. PaintedRobot excels at designing mobile applications with optimized UX, interactive websites and editing video content. Connect with us and let’s strategize about how you can make the most of this amazing Ontario small business support grant opportunity!
Tourism Relief Fund – Deadline: March 31, 2023
The Tourism Relief Fund supports tourism businesses and organizations by helping them adapt to public health requirements by way of investing in the development of digital products and services which facilitate their future growth. Eligible projects will:
- Empower tourism businesses to create new or enhance existing tourism experiences and products to attract more local and domestic visitors
- Help the sector reposition itself to welcome international visitors by providing the best Canadian tourism experiences we have to offer the world
- Help tourism businesses modernize their operations, attractions and online sales services
- Support businesses with the local promotion of tourism products, including digital and virtual reality experiences
This exciting Ontario grant offers so many possibilities for transformative digital adoption projects, from interactive and accessible web design, mobile application development, digital marketing campaigns and more. If your business operates in the Canadian tourism industry, chat with us today about how we can make the most of this amazing funding opportunity and modernize your business model.
Small Business Grants in Manitoba
Manitoba Accessibility Fund – Deadline: April 15, 2022
The Province of Manitoba is distributing grants of up to $50,000 to local businesses that want to enhance the digital accessibility of their services. Project proposals must include one or more of the following objectives:
- Raising awareness about preventing and removing digital barriers to access.
- Developing tools, resources and training in compliance with the Accessibility for Manitobans Act.
- Removing barriers to access digital resources, information and communications.
Applicable projects include rebuilding your website to meet accessible web design standards, developing a useful mobile app with inclusivity in mind, or removing barriers to access your brand’s resources and information by upgrading your content and operation management systems. Just to name a few. Everything that PaintedRobot does best!
Small Business Grants in British Columbia
Creative BC Interactive Fund – Deadline: May 26, 2022
The Interactive Fund supports the creation of high quality, original interactive digital media projects that “support diversity in artistic expression, demonstrate clear connections between art and technology, and provide opportunities for access, dissemination, and engagement with audiences and within the BC arts and culture sector.
This grant is designed to:
- Encourage the creation of high quality, original, interactive digital media content and software applications.
- Foster innovation and experimentation at the intersection of art and technology.
- Invest in projects that are creatively and financially achievable and show a clear path to broad access and engagement.
- Support projects that can demonstrate positive impacts on or for the arts and culture sector
Eligible projects for this business grant in British Columbia may include interactive websites, mobile applications, games and narrative content, or Virtual Reality/Augmented Reality experiences. We’ve had the opportunity to implement some pretty cool interactive digital media projects with our clients, like creating augmented reality tools integrated into their websites, designing mobile application libraries and more. Reach out and ask how we can help you every step of the way, from grant application, strategic implementation and project execution.
Small Business Grants in Atlantic Canada
Atlantic Canada Business Grants
The Agriculture Business Program will help businesses in the Newfoundland and Labrador agriculture, agri-foods, and agri-products industry address various industry challenges, capitalize on new opportunities and maintain access to existing markets. This funding initiative is designed to enhance the domestic and international market capacity as well as the market competitiveness of the sector.
Eligible digital adoption projects will include:
- Planning or implementation of promotional activities
- Market research
- Market and competitor analysis
- Strategic planning
At PaintedRobot, data tracking, data analysis and data-driven digital marketing strategy is our passion!
National Small Business Grants
Boost Your Business Technology Grant – Open Spring 2022 – 2025
This national small business grant is part of the Canada Digital Adoption Plan, which will distribute over $4 Billion in support of small-to-medium-sized businesses and their digital transformation efforts. This program is designed to offset the cost of hiring Digital Advisors (through the Digital Advisor Marketplace) to develop Digital Adoption Plans that are tailored to the needs and objectives of your business. Please note that this grant is designed to fund the development of a digital adoption plan, not the execution or implementation of digital adoption measures.
PaintedRobot can help you write your grant application, and when the time comes to put your digital adoption plan into action, we’ll be ready and waiting to work with you.
Boost Your Business Online Micro Grant – Open Spring 2022 – 2025
The second stream in Canada’s Digital Adoption Plan will provide a micro grant of up to $2400 for small businesses to invest in new technologies and develop their e-commerce capabilities. The Grow Your Business Online grant will help up to 90,000 small businesses serve their existing customers more effectively and attract new customers in the digital marketplace. Grants will be available through local and regional service providers across Canada. Service providers are still putting the finishing touches on their programs, so subscribe to our newsletter to find out when this funding opportunity is officially released.
CanExport – Open Now, No Set Deadline
The CanExport funding program will help small and medium-sized Canadian companies expand their international market development activities. This grant opportunity will cover up to 50% of costs for export marketing of your products and services in international markets where you have little or no sales. Eligible projects may include:
- Gathering market intelligence (custom research, reports and studies)
- Seeking expert legal and business advice
- Search Engine Optimization
- Translating, adapting or creating marketing materials
- Online advertising on social media platforms, online marketplaces and search engines.
- Expert advice for digital and e-commerce marketing
AKA, everything that PaintedRobot is all about! Take advantage of this amazing grant opportunity before the funding dries up. For more details, reach out to our team at PaintedRobot and let’s talk about how we can work together and get your products into international markets through digital adoption initiatives like optimizing your e-commerce capabilities, digital marketing strategy and competitor analysis research.
We can help with your Digital Adoption Plan:
From Grant Application to Technical Execution
If you’ve got a great digital project idea, connect with us at PaintedRobot! We’re happy to help you put together your application every step of the way, from program development to key messaging and grant writing. And of course, we have all the business solutions and digital production services you need to implement your vision, from UX web design, native mobile app development and integrated data-driven operating systems.
Our team of skilled writers and program developers can help you craft the best messaging strategy for your application, and help you outline a budget for your proposed project. If you believe that your business could benefit from these funds but don’t have a specific program in mind, connect with us to discuss what kinds of digital adoption projects would be the most effective for your business.
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