How can you benefit the most from the Canadian Digital Adoption Program (CDAP)?
Are you hoping to improve operations efficiency and profitability through digital investments? How much do you value investing in digital and technology to generate business and improve productivity?
In the past decade, our world has been preoccupied with globalization. Ensuing from the impact of COVID-19, our everyday life has been forced to adopt new ways of doing business. Digitally is currently transforming our everyday life. I guess your company would not want to be missed out on the opportunity arising from a massive digital revolution.
Depending on your circumstances, your company may qualify a grant from the Canadian Digital Adoption Program (CDAP). Your company could also be eligible for special benefits such as financing the cost of social media advertising; and the cost of utilizing cyber security software for your database.
In this blog post, we are going to discuss you what the Canadian Digital Adoption Program (CDAP) is and how your company can benefit from it.
What’s the Canadian Digital Adoption Program (CDAP)?
The Canadian Digital Adoption Program (CDAP) is one of the programs launched by Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED). The Department works with Canadians in all areas of the economy and in all parts of the country to improve conditions for investment.
To help your businesses stay competitive and grow, the Canadian Federal government has a lucrative grant to help eligible businesses who are eager to explore digital presence to digitalize their business operations. Your business could possibly realize its best potential by adopting digital technologies.
Link for more info: https://www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/152.nsf/eng/home
What is digital adoption?
Digital adoption is the process by which stakeholder acquire to leverage new digital expertise (to its fullest potential. Put it simply, your company might be entitled free money by investing your existing database system digitally.
Digital adoption has the following advantages:
- Better data collection.
- Better Resource Management & Operational Efficacy
- Better client experience.
- Better profits management
- Agility and flexibility in business operation
- Mistake prevention
- Developing a digital business culture
The Canadian Digital Adoption Program (CDAP) is comprised of two streams:
(1) The Grow Your Business Online stream; and (2) The Boost Your Business Technology stream.
The Grow Your Business Online stream
This stream is tailored mainly for small customer facing business to adopt their e-commerce technologies.
Eligible businesses will receive a micro-grant of up to $2,400 to help with the costs related to adopting digital technologies. Grants will be available through local and regional service providers across Canada.
In order to be eligible for “The Grow Your Business Online stream”. Applications must fulfil all the following criteria:
- Is a for-profit business (including for-profit social enterprises and co-operatives)
- Is a registered or incorporated business Is a consumer-facing business
- Can be accessed by consumers or provides in-person services to consumers
- Has at least one employee (other than the owner)
- Must commit to maintaining digital adoption strategy for six months after participation in the program Must consent to participating in follow-up surveys, sharing information with the Government of Canada (ISED and Statistics Canada), and having the name of the business published as a recipient of funding
The following types of small businesses are ineligible:
- Corporate chains,
- franchises or registered charities
- Representatives of multi-level marketing companies
- Real estate brokerages
This C$2,400 micro-grant can be used to cover the costs associated with a range of activities, including website development, search engine optimization, subscription fees for e-commerce platforms, and social media advertising.
You could possibly save time from designing your own webpage for yourself. You basically do not need to worry anything about your online presence. The grant basically, in other words, is a free advertisement online.
The Boost Your Business Technology stream
If you are happy with your existing online presence and platform, you could possibly look into this Stream. For those who do not want to simply rest on one’s laurels, the Canadian government also has an ambitious grant to boost your technology.
The Boost Your Business Technology grant offers support to Canadian-owned small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) who want to adopt new digital technologies.
This grant covers up to 90% of the eligible cost of retaining the services of a digital advisor, up to a maximum grant value of $15,000 per SME, to develop a digital adoption plan. Businesses also can also secure a 0% interest loan from the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC) to facilitate the acquisition of new technology.
You can also get an independent digital advisor to assess your business plan. Perhaps, this is almost everything you need to run your business and have your business thrived.
To be eligible for this stream, you must be only an owner, or a director (listed in the articles of incorporation) can complete the application form. Anyone other than an owner or a director could be automatically rejected. However, the other requirements are pretty easy to be complied with!
Your business must meet all the following eligibility criteria:
- Be incorporated federally or provincially, or be a Canadian resident sole proprietor
- Be a for-profit, privately owned business Have between 1 – 499 full time equivalent employees
- Have at least $500,000 of annual revenues in one of the previous three tax years
Ranging from relationship software, digital inventory management systems, network security software, and other technologies that will improve their bottom lines, such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, and robotics.
You can possibly get all of these almost for free for your company. It sounds pretty appealing, isn’t it? Not only can you expand your e-commerce plans, but your business can also thrive to best grow your online presence.
How we can help?
Do you hate bureaucracy from the government? Everything comes with a price, especially free money.
In order to be eligible for this free money, you would need to prepare an online digital needs assessment (DNA) that identifies your business and digital strengths and weaknesses across several parameters.
Below is a non-exhaustive list of factors that you may want to consider: strategy, business model, products and services, customer experience, operations, technology, organization, and cybersecurity.
Worrying about how to file an application or how to boost Your Business Technology? – we are also a digital advisor. We are happy to deliver digital advisory services to all eligible Canadian Small and Medium Enterprises. Digital advisors are required to provide vendor-neutral advice in the provision of advisory services to SMEs and will be subject to CDAP's Code of Conduct. [verify]
