BRITISH COLUMBIA – CanExport SMEs provides up to $75,000 to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) registered in Canada for international business development activities. The program helps develop export opportunities for products and services in new international markets.
CanExport SMEs is a funding program designed to promote and enhance Canada’s trade diversification efforts. It offers grants and contributions to Canadian companies to help them prepare for and establish a presence in international markets where they currently have little or no sales.
The program focuses on export marketing activities of existing products and services in foreign markets. Activities designed to attract investment or related to a company’s day to day operations in Canada are ineligible. Activities related to the development, production and distribution of new products and services are also ineligible.
CanExport SMEs supports exploratory activities as well as activities that contribute toward a longer-term strategy for internationalization. Companies may opt for a multi-year project, or submit a new application to build upon a previous project. Including up to 5 international markets helps companies accelerate their growth and pursue a regional expansion strategy. The choice of 7 activity categories allows for a high degree of project customization.
The program is delivered by the Canadian Trade Commissioner Service (TCS), Global Affairs Canada, in partnership with the National Research Council of Canada Industrial Research Assistance Program (NRC IRAP).
CanExport SMEs is open to all industry sectors.
To be eligible, your company must satisfy 5 essential criteria:
- Be for-profit
- Be an incorporated legal entity or a limited liability partnership (LLP) in Canada
- Have a Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) business number*
- Have 500 or fewer full-time equivalent (FTE) employees
- Have $100,000 to $100 million in annual revenue declared in Canada during its last complete tax reporting year (or during the last 12 months for monthly and quarterly filers)
CanExport SME provides funding on a cost-sharing basis with the recipient. The applicant may submit a maximum budget of $100,000; the minimum budget is set at $20,000.
The program funds up to 75 per cent of eligible costs for $15,000 to $75,000 in funding per project. The applicant is responsible for the remaining 25 per cent (in-kind contributions are not permitted).
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