PacifiCan — Regional Economic Growth through Innovation — Business Scale-Up and Productivity
Highlights
This program is designed for high-growth businesses like yours in British Columbia. It offers interest-free, repayable funding to help you scale up and enhance productivity. This means you can invest in new technologies, expand your market, and improve your manufacturing capacity without the burden of interest payments.
What You Get
- Up to $5 million per project
- Maximum $10 million per organization across multiple projects
- 50% of eligible project costs covered by PacifiCan
Benefits
- Interest-free financing: No interest charges, making it more affordable than traditional loans.
- Flexible repayment terms: One-year grace period followed by equal monthly payments over five years, with no penalty for early repayment.
- Support for innovation: Funding can be used for technology commercialization, productivity improvements, and business scale-up activities.
By participating in this program, you can accelerate your business growth, enter new markets, and enhance your competitive edge. The application process is straightforward, and if your business meets the criteria, you have a strong chance of qualifying.
Financing Details
Type of Financing: Interest-Free, Repayable Funding
Repayment Terms:
- Grace Period: 1 year after project completion.
- Repayment Period: Equal monthly payments over 5 years.
- Interest Rate: Interest-free.
- Early Repayment: No penalty for early repayment.
Eligible Expenses:
- Capital Costs: Equipment and machinery.
- Labour: Wages and benefits.
- Marketing: Costs related to promoting your business.
- Intellectual Property: Costs related to IP protection.
- Technology Development: Costs for technology development and commercial demonstrations.
- Professional Services: Advisory and technical services.
Ineligible Expenses:
- Basic and applied R&D (Technology Readiness Level 1-6).
- Land and buildings.
- Salary bonuses and dividend payments.
- Entertainment expenses.
- Refinancing of existing debts.
- Amortization or depreciation of assets.
- Lobbying activities.
- Donations, dues, and membership fees.
Fees:
- No fees associated with the program.
Qualifications
- Must be an incorporated high-growth business.
- Must have been operating in British Columbia for a minimum of 2 years.
- Must have staffed operating facilities in British Columbia.
- Must submit evidence of confirmed funding from all other sources, including non-government sources representing at least 50% of the proposed project costs.
- Must be looking to support or accelerate growth through activities such as:
- Productivity improvement
- Business scale-up
- Technology commercialization
- Maximum project duration of 3 years.
Preference may be given to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with less than 500 full-time employees (FTEs).
Disqualifications:
- Businesses that cannot provide evidence of confirmed funding from non-government sources for at least 50% of the proposed project costs.
- Businesses that have not been operating in British Columbia for at least 2 years.
- Businesses that do not have staffed operating facilities in British Columbia.
- Businesses that do not meet the high-growth definition.
Description
This program offers interest-free, repayable funding to help your business grow. You can receive between $200,000 and $5 million per project, with a maximum of $10 million per organization across multiple projects. This funding can cover up to 50% of eligible project costs.
Eligible costs include:
- Purchasing equipment and machinery
- Wages and benefits for your staff
- Marketing expenses
- Intellectual property costs
- Technology development and commercial demonstrations
- Professional, advisory, and technical services
Repayment terms are favorable. After your project is complete, you have a one-year grace period before you start repaying. Then, you make equal monthly payments over five years. There is no interest and no penalty for early repayment.
This program is a great opportunity to boost your business’s productivity and scale up operations without the burden of interest. It’s designed to help you invest in new technologies, improve processes, and expand your market reach.
Program Steps
Review the BSP EOI Help Guide: Download or bookmark the BSP EOI Help Guide for reference while completing the Expression of Interest (EOI) form.
Prepare Required Documentation: Gather the following mandatory documents:
- Financial statements for the past 2 years.
- Interim financial statements for at least the last 6-month period.
- Business plan and other documents describing the proposed project, your company, and its management team.
- Confirmation of other funding sources (such as bank statements, unused portion of lines of credit, official letters of intent, funding agreements, signed term sheets).
Complete the EOI Form: Fill out the EOI form with detailed information about your project, ensuring all sections are thoroughly completed.
Submit the EOI Form: Submit the completed EOI form along with the required documentation through the designated application portal.
Check for Updates: Monitor the application portal for updates on the status of your EOI. PacifiCan will invite selected companies to submit a full application for funding consideration.
Prepare for Full Application (if invited): If invited to submit a full application, prepare additional documents such as:
- Forecasted income statements and cash flow for the project duration.
- Detailed breakdown of project costs.
- Disclosure of pre-existing disbursements to third parties or senior executives.
Submit Full Application: Submit the full application along with any additional required documents. Ensure the application is complete and thorough to facilitate the assessment process.
Await Funding Decision: PacifiCan will communicate funding decisions within approximately 90 business days of receiving a complete application.
Funding Disbursement: If approved, submit claims up to 4 times per year for reimbursement based on the approved portion (50%) of eligible project costs incurred and paid.
Repayment Terms: After project completion, there is a 1-year grace period, followed by equal monthly payments over 5 years. The funding is interest-free with no penalty for early repayment.
