In ancient Greek mythology, "Cassandra" was the bearer of bad news. True to my namesake, I have to tell you, there are no* Government Grants for small business. *At least, not in the GTA/southern Ontario, not for start-up purposes, not for the 95% of small businesses types that I meet with, and not grants, as in free money you don't have to pay back later.
Do yourself a favour, and get over thinking that someone is going to hand you the money to start your business. Start saving, scale down the start-up vision, get friendly with your very rich, old uncle or make some other adaptation in your planning. I've been doing this job for 9 years, and this has been true all this time, and for at least a decade before that. And there is nothing on the horizon over the next 18 months.
Let me tell you what there is:
- Incentives, once your business is established (ie. subsidies and rebates on some specific expenses)
- The SBFA - Small Business Financing Act - where the Government of Canada will "underwrite" your bank loan so that if you can't pay it back, the government will cover 85% of it, taking most of the risk away from the bank; this applies only to purchases of land, buildings or heavy equipment. Inventory, payroll, administration expenses and other monthly operating expenses do not qualify.
- Support programs for tourism, farming and other specific industries rare in Brampton
Please, do not get lured into advertising that promises millions of dollars in and easy access to government support...particularly if you have to PAY to get hold of the information or if there is a fee to apply. And don't be fooled by pretty red and white graphics that look something like the Canadian flag - this does not mean it's a Government of Canada website.
Here are the safe places to check into government funding:
Province of Ontario:
http://www.2ontario.com/software/government_programs.asp
and
Government of Canada:
http://www.canadabusiness.ca/eic/site/sof-sdf.nsf/eng/Home.
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