The Honourable Mary Ng, Minister of Small Business, Export Promotion and International Trade, announced a call for applications for youth employment providers for the Canada Digital Adoption Program‘s (CDAP) second stream, Boost Your Business Technology.
As part of Boost Your Business Technology, up to $139.3 million in funding will be provided to not-for-profit organizations to employ up to 16,800 students and young Canadians to support businesses looking to adopt digital tools and technologies.
Prospective applicant organizations will need to demonstrate that they are well established, have a strong track record of delivering youth placement services, and can place students and recent graduates with SMEs across the country. Students and recent graduates will then support the digital transformation efforts of companies that are eligible for funding under the Boost Your Business Technology stream.
The Boost your Business Technology stream consists of several components to help businesses take the necessary steps to deepen their digital transformation journey. Under this stream, eligible SMEs will also benefit from financial support in the form of a grant to offset the costs of retaining an advisor to create a digital adoption plan. The grant may cover up to 90% of the cost associated with developing the plan to a maximum value of $15,000. SMEs will have access to a roster of experienced, vendor-neutral digital advisory service providers across Canada to develop curated and comprehensive digital adoption plans. In the coming weeks, a call for applications will be announced for interested digital advisory service providers.
In addition, SMEs will be able to access a zero-interest loan (up to $100,000) through the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC) to finance the implementation of their digital adoption plan. They will also be able to apply for a wage subsidy of up to $7,300 to pay for work placements of students and recent graduates to support their digital transformation efforts.
The stream 2 call for applications closes on September 8, 2021, at 2:59 p.m. (Eastern Daylight Time).
