On August 22, 2019, the CanExport funding program undertook two significant updates that impacted how the program operated and the value it provided to Canadian exporters. The first and most notable update was to the program’s contribution amount, while the second focused on company eligibility. Previously, agriculture and agri-food companies were unable to apply; these types of applicants are now encouraged to submit funding applications.

Applicants are now able to access up to 75% of eligible expenses to a maximum $75,000. These had previously been set for 50%/$50,000.

All new applications will be considered for the new contribution rate and eligibility criteria, but any applications submitted prior to August 22 will be evaluated under the program’s old rules. Please note that companies can only have one active project funded by the program at a time; despite the program update, all previous successful applicants still need to wait until their supported project activities have completed and all project claims have been processed before they can apply again.

What are CanExport and AgriMarketing grants?

CanExport is a Canadian government grant that offsets the cost of export marketing projects, such as participation in trade shows or missions. Provided federally, businesses and organizations across Canada can apply for this funding to expand export marketing budgets and get more value out of export expansion projects.

AgriMarketing is a now-closed Canadian government funding program that provided funding for many of the same projects and activities supported through CanExport. The biggest difference between the two programs was that AgriMarketing only supported agricultural producers and agri-food processors whereas CanExport supported all other applicant types.

How did these export marketing grants change?

Changes rolled-out to both the CanExport and AgriMarketing funding programs had a direct impact on the way funds are administered:

1. Contribution Increase: CanExport and AgriMarketing grants have historically provided up to 50% of eligible project expenses to a maximum $50,000 per application. As of August 22, 2019, CanExport’s new funding contribution amount increased to 75% of eligible project expenses to a maximum $75,000 per application. This is a significant increase that greatly reduces a business’ export marketing costs.
2. Program Realignment: Now closed, AgriMarketing will no longer process new applications. All applicants, even agricultural producers and processors, are encouraged to use the CanExport program for all new applications. CanExport’s expanded eligibility criteria supports previously ineligible companies, so long as your marketing activities and target market are eligible for funding.

How can businesses apply for CanExport funding?

To apply for CanExport marketing grants, businesses must complete a comprehensive application that includes a detailed plan for expanding sales in global markets. Applicants need to show the value of the project (new leads or revenue), a detailed breakdown of project expenses, and explain why the new market is of strategic importance. Businesses must receive application approval prior to incurring funding-eligible expenses.

To discuss your upcoming project and discuss if it’s a good fit for Canadian export marketing grants, please contact Mentor Works.

The post CanExport funding increases to 75%/$75,000 and supports agri-business appeared first on Trade Ready.

Changes to export grants and funding

The Ontario Chamber of Commerce’s Global Growth Fund is no longer accepting government funding applications. Both programs managed through the program, including the Export Manager Program (EMP) and Export Market Access (EMA), are fully subscribed and not likely to re-open under these naming conventions. While provincial funding programs for export initiatives may be accessible in the future, businesses are encouraged to direct all existing funding applications towards federal export grants.

From 2014-2016, Export Market Access helped 423 Ontario companies generate $89 million in export sales by de-risking popular export market entry strategies.

In the absence of these two funding programs, businesses are encouraged to apply for federal grants and incentives instead. While nothing is available federally to replace the Export Manager Program, companies looking for marketing and trade show support should explore the CanExport and AgriMarketing programs. CanExport is generally open to most businesses with 1-500 full-time employees, and AgriMarketing is only open to agriculture and agri-food businesses with fewer than 250 employees.

Export Manager Program and Export Market Access

The recent closure of the Export Manager Program (EMP) and Export Market Access (EMA) came as a surprise to many Ontario businesses who’ve tapped into the programs. EMP encouraged the hiring of an experienced export professional who could help spur revenue in foreign markets and EMA supported hundreds of businesses to reach new markets each year. Together, these programs strengthened the ability of businesses to succeed internationally.

Applications will no longer be accepted for either program, and applications that were in review are likely to be rejected. Previously approved projects will still have access to funding and need to report their outcomes once the project is complete.

Export Manager Program (EMP) Grants

The Export Manager Program provided funding for hiring an Export Manager or International Business Development Manager to help develop a business’ international revenue streams. Applicants could receive up to 50% of the new hire’s salary to a maximum $40,000 per year for a maximum of two years, offering a total value of up to $80,000 per company.

Export Market Access (EMA) Grants

The Export Market Access program helped businesses participate in trade shows, develop marketing tools for foreign audiences, perform market research, and bid on foreign projects. Applicants could receive up to 50% of eligible project expenses to a maximum $50,000 per application, and companies could apply twice per 12-month period to a lifetime maximum $250,000.

CanExport and AgriMarketing funding programs are open

Although those two Ontario government funding programs no longer accept applications, there are Canadian government grants for exporting that can provide similar support. The CanExport and AgriMarketing programs are very similar to the Export Market Access program, which makes it easier to pivot your EMA project towards available export grants.

CanExport Grants

The CanExport program is a government funding mechanism that supports export marketing projects including participation in trade shows and government-led trade missions. A wide range of businesses can access its funding to target international markets where less than $20,000 or 10% of total international sales have been generated over the previous 24 months.

Through the CanExport program, companies may access up to 25-50% of trade show costs to a maximum $50,000 per project. Up to two applications can be submitted per government fiscal year to a maximum $99,999.

To qualify for CanExport funding, companies must maintain 1-500 full-time employees, not be in the agricultural or agri-food sector, earn annual revenues of $100k to $100M, be federally incorporated, and generate eligible project expenses of at least $20k.

AgriMarketing Grants

AgriMarketing is like CanExport in terms of the projects it offers funding towards, but the type of applicant it seeks is quite different. The program supports food and beverage businesses performing international expansion projects, including trade shows and related marketing activities. As part of the Canadian Agricultural Partnership suite of funding programs, AgriMarketing manages a pool of funding that will last until 2023.

Through the AgriMarketing program, Canadian agri-businesses may receive up to 50% of project costs to a maximum $50,000 per year. Businesses may apply multiple times to a maximum $50,000 annually or $250,000 over the program’s lifetime.

To qualify for AgriMarketing export market development grants, agricultural producers and processors must perform prior market research to identify an opportunity-rich target market, maintain fewer than 250 employees, and earn less than $50M in annual revenue.

Get help with export grants and funding for global expansion

The Canadian government funding landscape is constantly evolving. For many business leaders, this creates confusion and can impact project plans. Through interactive business funding events, Mentor Works helps clarify government funding trends and can show your business additional grants and loans that can help support your strategic projects.

To learn more about export grants and additional business expansion opportunities, register for a Canadian government funding event.

Mentor Works is a business support organization specializing in Canadian government funding. The Ontario-based business has helped hundreds of businesses build and execute their funding strategy through a mix of federal and provincial government grants, loans, and tax credits. Mentor Works offers free online resources, funding webinars, and news via their website at www.mentorworks.ca.

The post Discover the changes to Export Market Access and Export Manager Program funding appeared first on Trade Ready.

Tara Kelly is a self-described “serial innovator” with a passion for using technology to help people—and with a little assistance from a program to help Canadian exporters, she hopes her software will change lives around the world.

Kelly is president and CEO of SPLICE Software, an Alberta-based company that also has offices in Chicago and Toronto. SPLICE is an artificial intelligence (AI)-based software suite with the ability to deliver personalized messages via multiple channels, including phone, short message service (SMS) messaging, and speech-to-speech technologies like Alexa and Google Home.

Growing with the help of CanExport

SPLICE Software has seen an impressive amount of success since its inception in 2006, and Kelly credits the Canadian Trade Commissioner Service (TCS)—part of Global Affairs Canada (GAC)—with being tremendously supportive and helpful in identifying opportunities to help her achieve success outside of Canada. Kelly networks through the TCS’s Business Women in Trade (BWIT) group. She says GAC’s CanExport program is a particularly valuable tool for Canadian companies looking to do business abroad. Her company received funding from the CanExport program in 2017.

CanExport is a five-year, $50-million program providing direct financial assistance to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) seeking to develop new export opportunities and markets, especially high-growth emerging markets. The CanExport program reimburses up to 50 percent of eligible expenses to participating companies, contributing up to $99,999 in matched funding.

“If you know you’re getting 50 percent back, that helps a lot,” Kelly says, adding she found out about the CanExport program from a Canadian trade commissioner in Los Angeles, CA. “It’s nice that they are supportive of the commercialization, not just the development of the technology.”

Finding opportunities to expand internationally

In order to become a global leader in the industry, SPLICE must compete with other businesses from known technology hubs around the world, including California and Eastern Asia. GAC—through its CanExport program and its network of trade commissioners around the world—has been extremely helpful in her efforts to find more opportunities to expand SPLICE in the international market, Kelly says.

One of the first things the government does a really great job of, is just creating a network of colleagues and peers that are doing business abroad. The matchmaking services that they offer are pretty sophisticated.The CanExport program is really awesome if you’re looking at expanding into a new country that you haven’t done business with in a significant way.

Kelly previously worked in health services, creating reminders for doctors and health practitioners, where she found that such highly personal relationships should require highly personalized reminder services.

“Any organization that’s committed to a strong brand relationship with their customer really should be using a more personalized approach,” she says. SPLICE Software specializes in insurance, finance, and retail, focusing on large enterprise with the goal to humanize the digital experience.

One of SPLICE Software’s advantages, Kelly says, “is the data security of our platform and the ability to offer customers access to the right information at the right time without putting their private information at risk.”

Harnessing the power of AI technology

AI technology is rapidly becoming a regular part of everyday life. It is becoming more normal to be able to speak to your car, your refrigerator, your dishwasher, and other household appliances and have them speak back to you. SPLICE is on the forefront of this new technological movement, she says.

“We’re unbelievably excited about what the future holds,” Kelly says. While some people may worry about potentially negative impacts of AI technology, she is confident that computers will only be as smart as humans train them to be.

“I think that artificial intelligence is going to require human assistance for a significant period of time,” Kelly says, adding she believes AI technology is very valuable in healthcare and in many other fields, “as long as there’s a human factor present.” Society need not fear AI technology, but rather should embrace it, she says.

The post How a tech business is growing and going global with help from CanExport appeared first on Trade Ready.

2018 was quite an eventful year for the popular CanExport funding program. Earlier in the year, it was updated to re-align the amount of funding available per application and the eligibility criteria for target export markets. By the end of 2018, it was updated again to further expand applicant eligibility criteria and enable more businesses to qualify for export funding.

CanExport now accepts Canadian government funding applications from businesses with 1-500 FTE employees and $100k-$100M in annual revenues. Under the program’s expanded eligibility criteria, both large and small companies previously ineligible for funding can now be considered.

Previously, only Canadian businesses with 1-250 FTE employees and $200k-$50M in annual revenues were eligible for export funding. The expanded funding will help more firms across Canada develop international markets and diversify revenue streams.

CanExport Applicant Eligibility Criteria Updates

Since CanExport was established in 2016, it’s helped more than 1,000 businesses perform exploratory export market development projects. This has led to more than $375 million in new exports and helped businesses to gain market share across the world. In fact, 42% of CanExport recipients successfully generated export revenues in the market(s) they accessed funding to explore.

Due to this overwhelming success and increasing demand from Canadian businesses, the CanExport program was updated twice in 2018. The first update adjusted how much funding can be awarded per project, while also providing greater context on which export markets are eligible.

The current and most significant update to CanExport will lead to even more businesses accessing export marketing grants. Due to a CanExport funding top-up in Summer 2018 and additional funds provided through the Fall 2018 Economic Update, the program seeks a wider range of applicants than ever before.

CanExport now accepts applications from businesses with 1-500 full-time equivalent (FTE) employees and $100k-$100M in annual revenues.

The increase in CanExport’s funding pool will help more high-quality export projects receive funding. This includes projects submitted from smaller applicants ($100k-$200k in annual revenues) and larger applicants ($50M-$100M in revenues; 250-500 employees) that were previously ineligible. These companies that now qualify for funding should explore the program further and discover how much they can receive in export grants.

What is the CanExport Funding Program?

CanExport is an international market development grant that helps companies expand into countries where limited to no revenues have been collected in the previous 24 months. Funding is commonly used to participate in an international trade show, provide on-site translation services while at the trade show, translate marketing materials, and perform market research.

The CanExport program provides businesses up to 50% of eligible project expenses to a maximum $50,000 per application and up to $99,999 per year.

To qualify for the program, applicants are advised to propose a high-impact export marketing event that is likely to lead to increased international sales. Applicants must plan to further develop that market post-trade show and deliver post-project updates to demonstrate its effectiveness. Additional eligibility criteria apply; please see Mentor Works’ CanExport Eligibility blog for a more extensive look at the program’s applicant, project, and expenses eligibility factors.

How to Access Export Market Development Funding via CanExport

To get started with CanExport funding, business leaders should start by selecting an upcoming international trade show that they intend to participate in, build a budget for the event, and forecast the intended outcomes (leads, clients, revenue) that would make the project a success.

Once there is a well-established project plan, companies should develop and submit a comprehensive funding application that reviews the strengths and opportunities the project addresses, as well as a rationale for how much funding is required. These details are critically reviewed by the program and only strong projects with clear benefits will receive approval.

Applications can be submitted to CanExport throughout the year; companies are advised to apply well in advance of the international event to ensure the application is processed by Global Affairs Canada in advance of incurring eligible expenses. It typically takes six to eight weeks for application approval.

The post CanExport Grants: Expanded Eligibility Criteria for Businesses appeared first on Trade Ready.

Often times, gaining access to new clients and partners comes down to expanding your market reach. Exporting products or services to foreign countries and establishing international partnerships could have profound benefits for your organization, but it also brings a degree of risk that must be overcome. Luckily, Canadian government grants are available to help businesses reduce the cost, and therefore risk, of market expansion projects.

There are several ways that Canadian businesses can tap into international markets, and the federal/provincial governments extend support for many of these activities. Whether your business is planning to begin exporting, or you’re an established exporter who is evaluating new markets, small business grants can accelerate market penetration and reduce the amount of time it takes to gain the profits.

Why access government grants to perform export expansion?

Successful expansion into new or existing markets relies on two factors: the strategy behind your expansion, and proper financing to confidently implement the plan. When both of these conditions are met, companies stand a good chance of seeing their project succeed.

The problem is that many companies underestimate the cost of export expansion projects, including the costs to travel to and from the market, participate in trade shows, generate marketing materials, adapt products to conform to new regulations, and find partners to help gain market share.

While a strategy may be good in theory, without access to financing, it’s impossible to actually achieve its goals. That’s why government grants can be an essential link to export success for many businesses.

If you have the right strategy and plan for export success, the government will reimburse a large portion of the expenses, therefore removing the burden of expansion and reducing the risks.

Companies should consider applying for government grants to implement any of the 3 following market entry strategies:

1. Participating in trade shows;
2. Establishing a foreign partner to commercialize the market; and
3. Training Canadian employees to identify and respond to the needs of international customers.

Finance your trade show participation in new international markets

Canadian government funding is available to support a wide range of projects related to expanding market reach. This includes the CanExport and the Going Global Innovation (GGI) programs.

A popular choice for those businesses who are evaluating their potential abroad, trade shows provide unparalleled access to consumers and strategic partners across the world. Companies can participate in trade shows themed around a specific product or service, and access industry trade shows to broaden this audience.

While not as big of an issue for medium and large companies, trade show participation can be quite costly for small businesses. Purchasing booth space and trade show passes for employees, developing booth marketing materials, and traveling costs are all expenses that may ultimately prevent businesses from participating. Thankfully, these are also expenses that can be offset by Canadian government grants.

Small and mid-sized businesses (SMEs) may receive up to 50% of eligible project expenses to reduce new market development costs with CanExport.

CanExport grants provide contributions ranging from $10,000-$99,999 to explore the viability of a new country they haven’t sold goods to in the past 24 months. This program is particularly beneficial if your business is considering expansion to markets within Europe or Asia.

Establish strategic partners to commercialize innovations

The fastest path to growth for most companies is to expand the number of customers they reach. But in order to be introduced to as many international customers as possible, it often makes sense to partner with organizations who are already fully integrated into the market.

Working with others to establish market share supports accelerated success, with less time and money needed.

Developing international partnerships can be tricky. Securing commitment from an international partner often requires travel, lodging, meals, and meeting expenses, all of which need to be incurred prior to the partnership’s solidification. This implies risk; there’s a chance that businesses can go through all of these steps and still not come away with a profitable partnership.

If your business could profit from the international commercialization of technologies, the Going Global Innovation program may cover up to 75% of eligible expenses.

Going Global Innovation grants will provide up to $75,000 towards several costs required for international travel and meetings. Companies can’t apply for research funding for current partnerships. The funding is meant to help potential collaborators meet and secure the partnership agreement through 3-4 international meetings.

Train Canadian workers to better serve international clients

Government grants are also available to support your company’s operational abilities. This is made possible through the Canada Job Grant, an initiative that reduces third-party training expenses incurred for their Canadian-based employees.

Although new market expansion is an exciting endeavour, growth opportunities may exist within export markets where you already sell. Maintaining a workforce who can communicate effectively with customers will help to exploit some of these opportunities, such as upselling or developing new highly-demanded products.

Unfortunately, third-party training can be costly when implemented across a team or business as a whole. Hiring a trainer to conduct specific courses, paying for tuition, and then affording materials can be too expensive for some firms, especially when the financial return on their training is unknown.

If your business is conducting third-party training for Canadian employees, up to 66% of costs may be recovered through Canada Job Grant funding.

The Canada Job Grant offers up to $10,000 per employee trained and will offset most costs related to the trainer and training program delivery. This training could benefit Canadian employees by helping them learn about international marketing, finance, supply chain management, and other international trade management specializations.

Develop a market expansion plan that includes government grants

The availability of specific government funding programs is largely based on a business’s location and the time of year they’re applying. Understanding the unique requirements of each program is critical to your application’s success, so it’s important to research these programs and apply for those that best fit your upcoming projects.

If you would like to confirm your business’s eligibility for any of the programs mentioned through this blog, please contact Mentor Works.

Every day, our team of Government Funding Planners work with Canadian businesses to solidify project plans and communicate deliverables to the government through application writing, submission, and reporting services.

The post How to accelerate 3 export strategies with government grants appeared first on Trade Ready.

Exports are now being hailed as the primary way for Canadian companies to increase profits, develop strong brand reputations, grow their capacity for innovation, and decrease their risk.

Exports are also forecasted to be the primary catalyst for economic growth in Canada for 2016 and 2017.

Most people, if asked to list companies who export, will list major corporations thousands of employees and billions of dollars at their disposal to facilitate their entry into new markets.

These businesses, however, form only a small portion of Canadian commerce: 99% of businesses across Canada are small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

What may be even more surprising is that Statistics Canada reveals there are well over a million businesses across Canada, and yet only about 40,000 of them are currently direct exporters.

What’s holding them back from taking this chance to export their products or services to a new country and grow their business?

With more limited resources and manpower, SMEs who want to go global sometimes face greater obstacles than major corporations.

So how can SMEs, who form the backbone of the Canadian economy, take advantage of the same international opportunities as their larger counterparts?

Introducing the CanExport Program

To offer financial assistance to overcome these obstacles and succeed in the global marketplace, Global Affairs Canada has introduced the CanExport program.

Providing up to $50 million over the next five years, the program is intended to help Canadian SMEs with revenues between $200,000 and $50 million and with between 1-250 full-time employees. The funding is designed to help with the eligible expenses related to developing a strategic plan to enter a new market.

These expenses include activities such as market research, travel to target markets to meet with potential clients and partners, participation in trade missions and trade shows, translation, legal fees, and adapting marketing tools for a new market.

The program will provide funding contributions ranging from $10,000 to $99,999.

Companies in any industry are eligible to apply, with the exception of the agriculture, food and beverage, fish and seafood and wine, beer and spirit sectors, as they are funded separately through Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s AgriMarketing Program.

A contribution will only cover expansion to one country at a time. However, funding will cover expansion into any market, as long as it constitutes a new export destination for the applicant, and that the project is aligned with applicable Canadian trade and economic sanctions in place.

Elise Racicot, the CanExport program manager for Global Affairs Canada, emphasizes that companies can reap major benefits from the program and that it can play a big part of an SME’s export strategy.

“SMEs should apply to CanExport, and more generally make sure to use the Trade Commissioner Service, to support their export development activities.”

This program, which is part of Canada’s trade strategy, enables small businesses in Canada to explore new opportunities, giving them a leg up in competitive and potentially lucrative new markets.

For more details on the program, please visit the Applicant Guide  or the Frequently Asked Questions page.

The post Here’s how Canadian SMEs can get funding to explore new export opportunities appeared first on Trade Ready.

Ontario’s aging workforce, combined with the growing need for technology in manufacturing, has created a perfect storm. Growth opportunities are available, but can’t be accessed due to diminished skillsets or physical capacity.

Before Ontario manufacturers can compete globally, they must have an agile and skilled workforce that can work with modern technology.

When this happens, industries can create more innovative products and increase production to serve global customers.

In order to develop this workforce efficiently, businesses need to invest in employee training programs.

Manufacturers across Canada have begun investing in training their workforce, but nearly 40% believe that providing formal training to employees is too expensive.

The Government of Ontario recognizes this trend and has developed a government funding program to assist the training of manufacturing talent.

By providing support to manufacturers, more employees will receive skills modernization, paving the way to greater exporting success.

FedDev Ontario Training Productivity Initiative – Up to $50,000 in business grants

Formal training to improve production processes is essential for business success. This is especially true in the manufacturing industry, where advanced computing and engineering systems are required.

Whether provided internally or through a third-party trainer, updating your employees’ skills and abilities will ensure that your business is operating with maximum productivity.

The Training and Productivity Initiative, funded by FedDev Ontario, supports these types of production-based training programs by offering government funding.

The funds are provided to offset training costs with the intent of improving productivity and export sales.

Southern Ontario manufacturers can receive up to 50% of training expenses to a maximum $50,000 for manufacturing skills development programs that:

1. Support the adaption/adoption of new manufacturing technologies, processes, or procedures to support business innovation and export expansion.
2. Support and develop a highly skilled production workforce that leads to new efficiencies or export opportunities.

For manufacturers who have already received the Training Productivity Initiative, up to a quarter (25%) of training program expenses will be paid (to a maximum $50,000), as long as you have not received funding through this program in the last two years.

If you have, you will become eligible to receive funding after the two year period has been completed.

Is your business eligible for the FedDev Ontario Training Productivity Initiative?

In order to qualify for up to $50,000 in Ontario government training grants, manufacturers must adhere by the following program criteria. In order to be approved, applicants must:

• Be a southern, central, or eastern Ontario-based manufacturer;
• Maintain between 10 and 1000 employees;
• Be in business for at least three years with financial statements for that period;
• Export their product or have plans to export as a result of the training program; and
• Have not received funding through this grant program in the last two years.

Types of training programs eligible for FedDev Ontario’s Training Productivity Initiative

Ontario manufacturers are eligible to receive this government funding for a variety of productivity and innovation boosting topics, such as:

• Engineering skills development;
• Software training; and
• Machinery or equipment training.

Find Canadian government grants to grow your business internationally

Aside from the Training Productivity Initiative for manufacturers, businesses can receive government grants and loans to support international expansion activities.

CanExport: grants for international market development

Announced earlier this year, the CanExport government funding program provides up to 50% of expenses to a maximum $99,999 in support of marketing activities for new international markets.

Small and mid-sized businesses from across Canada can use these funds to participate in trade shows, travel to prospective markets, and modify marketing materials to reflect international laws, languages, or preferences.

Export Market Access: Ontario business grants for export marketing

CanExport is often compared to a similar funding program specific to Ontario businesses, Export Market Access (EMA). Export Market Access provides up to 50% of project expenses to a maximum $30,000 per application, or $60,000 per year.

Like CanExport, EMA supports participation in trade shows and travel costs for company representatives.

Find Canadian government grants and loans to enable international expansion

The main difference between these two programs is who is eligible to apply. Businesses from across Canada may apply to CanExport, while only Ontario-based businesses may apply for Export Market Access.

Understanding this eligibility criterion for government funding is essential to successfully receiving grants and loans.

To learn more about receiving government funding for international market expansion projects, businesses can download a free white paper, the Canadian Small Business Funding Guide, to gain a better perspective on the Canadian government funding landscape.

The post Up to $50,000 in training grant funding available for exporting Ontario manufacturers appeared first on Trade Ready.