How do I qualify for a small business grant?

As a small business owner in Canada you’ve likely heard of small business grants being offered to small business owners. But knowing how to qualify for a small business grant is a challenge of it’s own.

Each government funding program is offered by a different funding agency in Canada. Most of these funding agencies don’t really communicate to share the same criteria which means that each program has it’s own.

Funding programs are different and the criteria and qualification differ.

Qualifying criteria for small business grants:

• Your business plan
• The location of your business
• Industry you are in
• Funding needs (specific business activities and dollar amounts)
• Time of year you apply
• Your credit history

Depending which small business grant or loan program you apply to, the criteria may be different. Certain programs are easier to get to then others but generally speaking, many factors are considered before one can successfully obtain the funds.

So how do you qualify for a small business grant?

Start with creating a business plan.

Your business plan should outline your business model, explain your funding needs in a broken down manner and showcase your financials to date.

Once your business plan is done, get it reviewed by experts (CanadaStartups can help), and move on to finding the programs (grants, loans or tax breaks) which are available to help you get the funding you need (CanadaStartups can help with this too)

If you’d like to see which small business grants or other government funding you may be eligible for give us a call at 1-800-288-9691.