Canada Digital Adoption Program

Use the CDAP Grant to Fund Your Digital Projects

Access $24,700 in government funding for a $1,500 investment
and up to $100,000 in interest-free loans using the CDAP grant.

Access $24,700 in government funding for a $1,500 investment and up to $100,000 in interest-free loans using the CDAP grant.

Authorized CDAP Grant Digital Advisor Logo

Allstar Tech is a Regina based Approved & Recognized Digital Advisor for the Canadian Digital Adoption Program (CDAP)

Delta Holtby CDAP Grant Authorized Digital Advisor
Canada CDAP Grant upto $15,000 to create a plan

What is the CDAP Grant?

The Canada Digital Adoption Program (CDAP) is a government initiative to help small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) adopt new digital technologies. The Canadian government has committed $4 billion to the program over the next four years.

If you’re a registered business in Canada (sole proprietorship or incorporated) with at least $30,000 revenue, you’re eligible for one grant (eligibility requirements opened October 18, 2022).

If your business has one full-time equivalent employee and $500,000 revenue in one of the prior three years, you’re likely eligible for both grants.
Regina Saskatchewan CDAP Grant Advisor

What is the CDAP Grant?

The CDAP grant is composed of two streams, a microgrant which most companies with at least one

employee are eligible for, and the larger Boost Your Business Technology grant

with stricter eligibility criteria.

Stream 1 CDAP Grant

Stream 1

$2,400 microgrant to implement digital marketing initiatives.

Stream 2 CDAP Grant

Stream 2

Up to $15,000 to hire a CDAP Digital Advisor to create a CDAP plan.

Wage Subsidy available with a CDAP Grants

Wage Subsidy

$7,300 to implement the
CDAP plan.

Interest free loans available with the CDAP Grant

Interest-Free Loan

Up to $100,000 to implement the CDAP plan.

Stream 1

Grow Your Business Online

$2,400 microgrant to reimburse for costs related to web design, SEO, site audits, Google Analytics consulting, Google Ads, social media, databases and more.

Covers hiring a digital marketing agency to plan and implement initiatives.

CDAP Advisor located in Regina Saskatoon
Digital Advisor consultation in Regina and Saskatoon

Stream 2

Boost Your Business Technology

90% reimbursement up to $15,000 to cover the costs of hiring an approved advisor to develop a digital plan – i.e., the digital advisor invoices you $16,500 for creating the CDAP plan, and you’d receive a $14,850 grant to pay the advisor plus $1,650 out of pocket.

$7,300 in wage subsidies to hire Canadian youth to implement the plan.

 $100,000 in interest-free loans for implementation of the plan.

Where can I find a CDAP Digital Advisor?

Allstar Tech CDAP Digital Advisors local in Regina
Digital Advisor

For Stream 2, SEMs must work with an approved digital advisor registered with CDAP.
These are organizations that meet and maintains all the required criteria to deliver digital advisory services. Approved advisors are required to provide vendor neutral advice and are subject to CDAP’s Code of Conduct. They will work with eligible SMEs to digital adoption plans which are required to meet the minimum viable elements identified in the CDAP digital adoption plan guide.

Allstar Tech is a registered CDAP Digital Advisor.

 

A listing of all CDAP digital advisors is available in the program’s marketplace – Allstar Tech is located in Regina and services Saskatoon, Winnipeg, Calgary, Edmonton, and Vancouver.

Which stream is right for my business?

The official program site has a Grant Assessment Tool with these questions to determine
which is right for you.  We’re here to help:

Stream 1

Stream 1 is intended for customer-facing businesses who haven’t yet adopted digital tech or are looking to improve, with funding to support up to 90,000 businesses. This microgrant of $2,400 has a requirement of $30,000 revenue in the most recent tax year.

Stream 2

Stream 2 is designed to help up to 70,000 SMEs adopt new digital technologies and strategies as part of an adoption plan, so the grant is much larger. It’s best suited for enterprises with high operational costs and the business needs capital and outside, independent expertise to move technology forward.

Digital Adoption Plan fund using the CDAP Grant money up to $15,000 for Digital Needs Assessments

Step 1

Book a free discovery call and discuss the CDAP digital journey

Step 2

We help you complete the CDAP application qualification process.

Step 3

We jump start the creation of the digital plan with our proven approach, tools and software.

Step 4

Finalize a digital adoption plan tailored for your specific needs.

Step 5

Submit the plan and secure the CDAP funding.

What costs are eligible?
How can the CDAP grant benefit my company?

CDAP Digitial Needs Assessment

Stream 1 benefits most businesses looking to improve their technology.
Businesses are paired with a government appointed advisor who will work with you to determine where to invest your funds. The microgrant can be spent on a variety of tech initiatives. Eligible costs include website upgrades, web design, search engine optimization (SEO), eCommerce implementation, online reservation and bookings, social media support, digital advertising, and fees for eCommerce platforms and software including a portion of POS systems.

Stream 2 is to be used to retain an approved CDAP digital advisor to analyze the current state and create a plan and recommendations for implementation. It differs from Stream 1 in that the funds are to develop the plan only, and not for implementation. If you choose to work with Allstar Tech for this grant stream, we are currently offering a subscription to the GetInSync SaaS software.

The grant is to be used towards

Providing support during the grant application process to maximize funding.

Completing a digital needs assessment to review your operations, current technology and business strategy to identify where you can benefit most and what to prioritize.

If your business has one full-time equivalent employee and $500,000 revenue in one of the prior three years, you’re likely eligible for both grants.

Together, we review the investments made in your existing technology and develop strategies that leverages both existing and new methods including a cost / benefit analysis of the top options. Our focus is prioritizing demand for technology, reducing costly duplication, coordinating technology priorities within and between teams and use real data to create a roadmap.

What's the process? How much time does this take?

For the Boost Your Business Technology grant of $15,000

Grow your Digital Maturity using the CDAP Grant

How do I apply?

Our Authorized Digital Advisors will walk you through the official Canada Digital Adoption Program application process:

Apply for CDAP Grant in Regina
Apply for Stream 1 on ic.gc.ca     Apply for Stream 2 on ic.gc.ca

Apply for Stream 1 on ic.gc.ca

Apply for Stream 2 on ic.gc.ca

Allstar Tech can work with you to select the right CDAP stream(s) and assist you in preparing and submitting the applications. We’ve been approved by the federal government in advising Canadian SMEs under the CDAP program. For questions on eligibility and what you can spend the grant on, contact one of our Regina based grant administrators.

CDAP FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

It’s a government grant and it has been confusing for all involved.

Simply put, if you had $30,000 revenue last tax year and are a registered Canadian business, you’re likely eligible for the $2,400 Stream 1 grant, which can be spent in many ways. If you have revenues >$500k in any of the past 3 years, you can also apply for the $15,000 CDAP Stream 2. Unlike the Launch Online and SMB Grants before it, this grant has stricter requirements on eligible costs and is designed to create a plan, and you’re fast tracked for a 0% loan after to implement that plan.

For Stream 1, yes. For Stream 2, only government-approved digital advisors like Allstar Tech can provide services.

We’ve created plans with the biggest findings with:
• Accounting Application Evaluations
• CRM Application Evaluations
• Application Portfolio Management
• IT Assessments and vCIO maturity
• Process Audits and Automation

The funds for the CDAP Grant Stream 2 can only be used to create the Digital Adoption Plan and is not for implementation or software or ad costs.  Book a free discovery call with us and we’ll explain further.

In addition to developing business strategies, technology roadmaps, and CIO services, we pride ourselves in finding the best technologies for our clients and their budgets. We’re not just consultants – we’re technologists with 24 years experience consulting for small businesses and Fortune 500 companies. We’ve researched, recommended, and implemented systems including:

• Automated accounting solutions
• eCommerce setup and integrations
• Email marketing and social media strategy & automation
• CRM (Customer Relationship Management) databases
• AHRIS (Human Resource Information Systems) – virtual timesheets, payroll
• Project / Task Management
• Integrations and connection to IT systems such as using Zapier or directly through API’s

The federal government has simplified the grant application process, compared to previous grants like the SMB and Launch Online grants. They’ve said they’re trying to get this money out as fast as they can, as easy as they can. The application takes less than 20 minutes.

Applications opened in January 2022 and the program is set to run for four years, with a review after one year.

The program administrators have said that most applications take a few days to two weeks to review and approve, but they’re working on reducing this time to less than a day.

Funds will be sent by the government to the SME within 30 days of uploading the completed digital adoption plan.

SMEs are expected to work with advisors to come up with a deposit and payment structure.

An SME has six months to accept the CDAP terms, then nine months to submit the Digital Adoption Plan to the government (see Section 3.2 of the Program Guide). Most plans are completed in less than three months.

Use the CDAP Program’s Grant Assessment Tool. Unlike other recent tech grants, you must have at least 1 full-time equivalent employee.

For questions on eligibility, the progress of your application and eligible spending categories, contact the grant administrators

No, though the wording makes it sound like the grant administrators prefer it. However, we’ve worked with accounting firms and environment consulting firms who have used it to boost their SEO, update their websites and create social media plans and their costs were approved.

Business owners or directors must apply for the grant; however, we can walk you through the process.

For Stream 1, yes.

For Stream 2, after approval applicants will have access to the CDAP Digital Advisor Marketplace, which is a searchable and filterable list of all registered digital advisors.

SMEs can reach out to any number of digital advisors but can only work with one for Stream 2.

The Government of Canada requires these four elements in every plan:

  1. Executive summary: Provide a high-level summary of the key elements of this plan for the SME.
  2. Current state analysis: Provide an overview of key business information, such as their strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats, their external issues as well as key IS/IT informations.
  3. Digital adoption analysis and recommendations: Identify a minimum of three potential digital/technology solutions for the SME to consider, including how each of those solutions will benefit the SME’s business.
  4. Implementation roadmap: Identify the key elements to implement the recommended options including timeline, dependencies, costs to acquire the technology, etc.

The plan may also include optional elements such as skill requirements and high-level requirements for each recommendation. See the Canadian Digital Adoption Plan and Guide for more details. Source: CDAP Webinar (May 3, 2022)

Yes, Allstar Tech is a registered and approved advisor. Learn more about the requirements to be a CDAP digital advisor on the program site.

We’d be happy to guide you through the assessment process. Book a call at the bottom of this FAQ!

The federal government has simplified the grant application process, compared to previous grants like the SMB and Launch Online grants. They’ve said they’re trying to get this money out as fast as they can, as easy as they can. The application takes less than 20 minutes.

As with most government grants, if an applicatin meets all eligibility requirements, grants are approved on a first-come, first-serve basis.

Book a Discovery Call

Only government-approved digital advisors can provide services for Stream 2.

Only government-approved digital advisors can provide services for Stream 2.

Please, fill the form with your data. It will help us to work with you.

Please, fill the form with your data. It will help us to work with you.