CanExport Program: Grants for Export Market Development

Are you looking to diversify the markets your business is currently engaging in? Are you interested in accessing new markets from the USA to Europe to Australia and everywhere in between? CanExport - might be a useful program!!

Important Message about CanExport SMEs: The program is accepting new applications at 08:00 AM EST on January 10, 2022, for projects starting the next fiscal year after April 1, 2022.

CanExport funding program is a program, run by Global Affairs Canada that offers direct financial assistance to Canadian small- and medium-sized enterprises that are seeking new export and market opportunities. Businesses can de-risk export market evaluation and development as well as accelerate their international growth. CanExport provides help to small and medium-sized companies to grow their business in new markets, especially high-growth priority markets and sectors. To be deemed eligible, applicants need to have a CRA business identifier number and employ between 1-500 equivalent full-time employees, maintaining annual revenues between  $100,000 - $100 million.

If you need help building a Canadian government funding strategy, This article provides you with what you need to know about CanExport.

In This Article You Will Read:

• What is CanExport fundings?
• CanExport SMEs(PME)
• CanExport Innovation
• CanExport Associations
• CanExport Community Investments
• Applicant Eligibility Criteria
• Project Eligibility Criteria
• Expense Eligibility Criteria
• How to Apply for CanExport Grants?

CanExport is a building block of the Canadian government's grant strategy for exporters, innovators, associations, and communities to develop their competitiveness, take advantage of opportunities abroad while creating jobs and growth at home.

Actually, The program's objective is to facilitate export development with government financing and export-oriented supports.
Qualified activities under the program must aim to elevate international business development and must demonstrate new or extended creativity and make available a chance to yield incremental outcomes.

One of the sub-program of CanExport funding is CanExport SME. The program offers grants and contributions to Canadian small and medium-sized businesses to help them running challenges and keeping on growing into the international marketplace.

The focuses of CanExport SMEs is on export marketing activities of existing products and services in foreign markets. Exploratory activities and activities that contribute toward a longer-term strategy for internationalization can apply to CanExport SMEs.
To be eligible for CanExport fundings, applicants need to have a CRA business identifier number and at least $100,000 in revenue in the last fiscal year as well as employ between 1-500 equivalent full-time employees.

Moreover, Canadian businesses must have either never exported to this market or have not greatly exported to this market within the last 2years.
Companies in all sectors, with the exception of sectors that already have access to a federal export support program, can access up to $50,000 in funding to help with international market development activities

CanExport Innovation is a sub-program of CanExport which is designed to advance and enhance Canada’s international innovation efforts. CanExport Innovation aims to make easy collaborative research and development (R&D) with international partners and investors.

The purpose of partnerships must be joint advancement, adjustment, or validation of a Canadian technology owned by the applicant organization. The technology must be ready for commercialization for 5 years. Moreover, looking for investors to support joint R&D work could be considered a qualified goal by the program.

Financial aid can be a grant or contribution. Applicants can apply to only one CanExport sub-program for a specific project, related activities, and expenses.

CanExport Innovation determines the most suitable funding system based on a risk evaluation analysis of the applicant and the project. CanExport creativity does not support plans that span across multiple fiscal years.

CanExport Associations provides financial support to Canadian national industry associations and trade organizations for new or expanded international business development activities. Canadian national trade organizations may access up to $400,000 in annual funding to cover up to 25% of the cost for new or expanded international business development activities.

Applicants must be incorporated and don't sell products directly that are sold by its members. Moreover, They must have enough financial resources generated from private revenues to cover their share of proposed activities. Having a 3-year, board-approved, international business development strategy is the other condition for applicant organization.

Export trading, Creating/updating strategy for international business development, Gathering market intelligence, networking functions, meetings or conferences, and attending virtual trade shows are the examples of non-travel activities supported by CanExport Associations.

On the other hand, organizing trade missions for SMEs in its industry, In-person participation at trade shows, networking functions, meetings or conferences, and organizing an incoming delegation of foreign buyers are examples of travel resumes that supported by CanExport Associations.

the CanExport Community Investments program is one of the many tools deployed by the Government of Canada to increase prosperity. It gets financial support to Canadian communities that seek to make better their capacity to attract, maintain, and develop FDI to create jobs for Canadians, support creativity, and grow exports.

The program helps non-profit partnerships at the local society level. The enterprise supported by the program should be the center of supporting the attraction, maintenance, and development of foreign direct investment through specific kinds of activities. Non-repayable shares range from $3,000 to $500,000 and agreements are made during one year, from January 1 to December 31.

The program supplies reimbursement of up to 50 % of eligible expenses. If an applicant organization gets other federal government aid, the total federal support cannot overpass 50 %.