Main terms and conditions of the interest-free loan

100% online application

Loan amount of $25K to $100K - depending on your prior year revenue

0% interest loan

No guarantees (no personal guarantee or security agreement)

No fees

Amortization period: 6 years (5 years plus an initial postponement of 12 months)

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What’s the application process like?

It usually takes around 14 days to process the loan.

Businesses request the loan amount based on their revenue.

Use your most recent year’s financial statements to determine whether the maximum loan amount you qualify for.

• Revenue $500K to $5M: loan between $25K and $50K
• Revenue $5M or more: loan between $25K and $100K

You have 6 months to apply for the loan through the unique link provided to you.

Find this link anytime inside the CDAP portal.

Required documents for loan application:

• Application form (online)
• Most recent financial statements
• For shareholders: Statement of personal affairs (online) and valid ID

Our Advice

• Apply for the maximum amount you are eligible for, because you can only apply for the loan once - even if you cross over the revenue threshold in future years and you qualify for a higher loan amount.
• There’s no rush to apply as the funds are not expected to run out in this 4 year program, but make sure you apply within 6 months from when your digital adoption plan was approved.

What can I use the loan for?

Anything described in your digital adoption plan and supports your digital transformation efforts

Examples:

• SaaS costs for cloud-based applications
• Create videos for website as part of new website work
• Partial cost of a social media person to support online marketing
• Custom development costs if no available solution is suitable

Our Advice

• In your digital adoption plan, include more detail than less so there’s more flexibility in the ways you can use the loan proceeds.

What are the reporting requirements?

No proof of expenditures is required.

ISED has the right to audit expenditures.

Our advice

• Make sure you are logging your expenditures somewhere, even on a simple Excel or Google Sheet, in case you are asked to provide this information.
• In your log, for each expenditure, include the date, amount, description/vendor and the digital solution or initiative in your digital adoption plan that the expenditure relates to.

Other useful information

Repayment begins on the 13th month. This is the 12-month postponement that they refer to.

Having your digital adoption plan done by BDC doesn’t mean your chances of getting the loan is higher. They are separate parts of BDC.

Learn more

Cue North is an approved digital advisory of the CDAP. Book a complimentary 30-minute call with our team to help you get started.