20 Market Development Incentives for Businesses in Ontario to Help Your Business Grow

As we all know, every business needs money to grow, these programs that we have put together will help you to find the funding that you need. The programs will either require you to pay the money back or keep it for free.

As with all funding programs, the important thing for you to keep in mind is that you need to keep up-to-date, accurate, and organized records because a few of these programs will require a lot of supporting documents.

If you’re in Ontario, you will have an extra number of programs available to you.

Canada-Wide Incentives

Even businesses that aren’t in Ontario have no reason to lose any hope. There are many federally provided programs out there for you to take advantage of to help you out, no matter what industry your business is in. A few of these programs are very compelling.

AI-Powered Supply Chains Supercluster (SCALE.AI) Industry-led Projects

If your business is in the AI sector this program can provide you with the funding that you need for your project if you are able to speed up the process of bringing AI to supply chains. You will first need to register with SCALE.AI to get the funding to help your project along. Just make sure that your AI project can be applied to the supply chain in any way, you have a partnership with at least 1 small or medium-sized business and a research institution or postsecondary, and have your CEO’s or executive’s endorsement, you can then apply for the program at any time.

Canadian Agricultural Partnership AgriAssurance Program: National Industry Association Component

This program can help your non-profit organization in the agri-food sector to adopt or create new standards, tools, and/or services that are related to assurance systems that can verify the claims of health and safety. If you operate in agri-food, agriculture, and agri-based products and can enter legally binding contracts, your non-profit organization, whether it be a cooperative, association, societies, club, and Indigenous group, you can qualify.

Canadian Agricultural Partnership AgriCompetitiveness Program

This funding can be a good fit for you if you’re a non-profit organization that is only for the benefit of others, such as social welfare or civic improvement, and you can enter legally binding contracts. You can be a part of improving the agricultural sector by developing a project that will expand capacity, offer mentorship opportunities, adapt to changing regulations, and more. You will, however, need to come up with 50% of the costs yourself but this program will help with the rest if you have a project that can possibly increase profitability for farmers, increase agricultural awareness, expand the knowledge base, or any goal that is acceptable to the program.

Canada Heritage Canada Book Fund (CBF) – Support for Organizations

This program is aimed to help with the promotion and marketing of books that have been written by Canadian authors and, at the same time, strengthen the book industry. Any business or organization in Canada that is operating in or representing one that is operating in the book industry within Canada can participate in the program. So, the program can help as many projects as possible, they will fund up to 50% of the costs.

Other

Canadian Agricultural Partnership AgriInnovate Program

You should have a deep look into this program if your business is on the way to track the commercialization, use, or demonstration of an innovative service, product, process, or technology that can possibly escalate the sustainability or competitiveness of the agricultural sector. You will have to pay this investment back later and put up to 50% of the project’s costs, but the funding can help to see your project through to fruition.

Incentives in Ontario

Here is a ton of funding programs for you to investigate if you are in Ontario. There is also a tax credit for you on this list. Jump on them now if they’re a good fit because some have deadlines.

Grants

Ministry of Agriculture, Food, and Rural Affairs Rural Economic Development (RED) Program

This funding program is aimed toward improving economic development through non-profits in rural Ontario that are also working to achieve the same goal. The program has two components. The Economic Diversification and Competitiveness Stream, which offers funds for projects that will increase job investment and growth, diversify the economy of the area, or strengthen the sector and/or regional collaborations. And, the Strategic Economic Infrastructure Stream, which funds projects that will advance economic development and investment opportunities in some way, including rehabilitating heritage or cultural sites or landscaping and street.

Ontario Trillium Foundation (OTF) Grow Grants

If you have a project that is geared towards improving economic development and benefit your community, this program wants to fund your business. You can achieve that goal by either adapting, starting, or reproducing a program; you can grow a program that already exists so it can benefit more people, or you can improve a program to achieve the same outcome.

Government of Ontario Forestry Growth Fund

Depending on what your project needs, this program offers both grants and loans to help. Your project must benefit the forestry industry to accomplish at least one of the six goals to be considered for assistance, goals such as boosting innovation, improving productivity, enhancing competitiveness, strengthening existing supply chains, assisting with access to new markets, or reinforcing regional economies. Also, your business will need to process or manufacture wood and forest biomass in Ontario.

Government of Ontario Grassroots Growth Program

This program will provide you with funding to help with your short-term agri-food project if it helps to grow the sector and ensure sustainable agriculture and promote successful rural economies. As long as you can enter a legally binding contract agreement and share all of the possible sources of funding with the program, you can be any time of business and still qualify for funding.

Ministry of Agriculture, Food, and Rural Affairs Canadian Agricultural Partnership, Place to Grow: Agri-food Innovation Initiative, Funding for Sectors and Strategic Solutions Streams

This is a limited-time program that has been made to help fund projects that will enhance the agriculture and its food-value chain partners by addressing the priorities of the industry such as animal health, food safety and traceability, plant health, water quality, and soil health, technology solutions, market development, and labour supply and training challenges. This is a cost-sharing program that is split into two streams: the Funding for Sectors stream and the Strategic Solutions stream. The first stream supports partner organizations as they solve the challenges in any of the previously mentioned challenges, the second stream focuses on bolder, larger projects.

Ontario Cultural Attractions Fund Corporation Ontario Cultural Attractions Fund

This program is a perfect fit for arts, cultural, or heritage non-profits in Ontario that is looking to create and promote a new event, or expand on an event that already exists, this is aimed at attracting tourists to Ontario and increase the revenue of the industry. You will qualify if you’re based and incorporated in Ontario and have been for at least a year and your main directive is the preservation and presentation of arts and heritage resources, or the presentation of arts, heritage, or cultural programming in Ontario.

Tax Credits/Refunds

Ontario Creates Ontario Interactive Digital Media Tax Credit

Businesses both small and large in Ontario can claim this tax credit if you market, produce, and distribute digital gaming for children 12 years of age and younger. Products that qualify for the tax credit include e-learning products, mobile apps, and more, not just digital games. The credit was designed to help with the cost of marketing, labour, and distribution expenses that are associated with the products that your business creates.

Southern Ontario Incentives

Operating your business in specific areas of Ontario can also pay off. You won’t have a lot of competition when applying for these funds because you’ll see that there are some interesting funding programs that aren’t available to anyone anywhere else. You can even make the costs your business incurs much easier by stacking programs together.

Grants

FedDev Ontario Community Economic Development and Diversification Stream 3, Not-for-Profit Organizations, Rural Growth, and Innovation in Southern Ontario

The Government of Canada diverts funds to Ontario for this funding program to help develop the market in your area. The goal is to improve the market by promoting the development of small businesses in ways such as collaboration and innovation. If your intent is to help diversify, develop, and transform your local economy, your non-profit organization can qualify for funding.

Other

FedDev Ontario Stream 2 Regional Innovation Ecosystem

If your small or medium-sized business is ready to improve your local market’s growth and the competitiveness of your business in Southern Ontario, then you should apply for this loan program that helps with half of the costs for your project. Just be sure to remember that although there is no interest on the loan, you will have to repay it eventually.

Southern and Eastern Ontario Incentives

Government of Ontario Regional Development Program: Eastern and Southwestern Ontario Development Fund, Business Projects

You can take advantage of this program if your business is a for-profit or not-for-profit organization in Eastern or Southern Ontario that has the goals to improve the economic development in the area. Creating jobs, attracting greater investment in the private sector, and encouraging innovation are what the program will consider as economic development results. The funding starts off as a loan but if your business can reach its targets for investment and jobs, the program will forgive a portion of the loan.

Northern Ontario Incentives

FedNor Regional Innovation Ecosystems Stream under the Regional Economic Growth through Innovation (REGI) Program

FedNor can cover a portion of eligible costs if your business is working to improve the economic growth and innovation in the area. They may even cover all the costs of your project that stand out and is exceptional. Your project must be a benefit to Northern Ontario and your business must be a legal body and can enter legal contracts.

FedNor Community Economic Development under the Northern Ontario Development Program (NODP)

Organizations, except for-profits, that are in Northern Ontario with the goal to support the economic business growth, resource mobilization, and opportunity exploitation of the area can be eligible for this grant program, which can cover a portion of the capital and non-capital costs. Your project should foster economic growth for Northern Ontario in sectors such as agri-food, mining, and more.

FedNor Community Investment Initiative for Northern Ontario (CIINO) under the Northern Ontario Development Program (NODP)

This program from FedNor offers grants to Tribal groups on behalf of multiple communities, Indigenous communities, Community Futures Development Corporations, and rural municipalities. Its purpose is to bring community groups and communities together to benefit the region by providing opportunities to the economy such as sector development and job creation. If you qualify, you can qualify to have a large portion of your project funded with the grant.

FedNor Economic Development Initiative (EDI) under the Northern Ontario Development Program (NODP)

Organizations that are working to or wanting to work to improve the opportunities in Northern Ontario’s Francophone communities can qualify for this program if you’re located in Northern Ontario as long as you contribute no less than 10% of the costs and your project works to help develop Francophone enterprises or communities in various ways such as creating new jobs, services, or products or increasing trade, numbers, or investments of small to medium-sized businesses. You can even use the funds to hire an intern.

Bottom Line

This is the perfect time to come up with or introduce a new project to grow and develop your market. Your options are wide open with this many programs available to fund your idea, and the cost won’t be nearly as intimidating or painful.

Also, helping to improve the market can benefit others and yourself. Partnerships may be required for many of these programs, you just may find yourself with valuable colleagues and some better contacts for future market development and/or business.