New to Exporting and Going to Trade Shows?
Early Stage Exporters Funding
Written by:
Samantha Hingley, Client Manager.
The Ontario Chamber of Commerce, along with support from the Ontario government, has launched a new funding program called Early Stage Exporters (ESE). This fund is designed to support small- to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) who have annual sales between $300,000 and $500,000 that are looking to invest in export activities and increase brand awareness of their products or services in export markets.
The ESE program will fund companies that are planning to attend international trade shows, participate in outgoing or incoming missions, develop marketing tools for their desired export market, invest in market research, or participate in foreign bidding projects. The program will fund up to 50% of eligible costs to a maximum of $30,000. An application submitted for a market research project is only eligible up to $5,000. An SME can apply for up to 3 activities per application and the maximum amount of funding available per company through multiple applications is $150,000.
In order to be eligible an SME must meet the following criteria:
- Manufacture in Ontario
- Incorporated for at least 2 years
- Minimum of 3 full time equivalent employees
- Annual sales between $300,000 and $500,000
- Strong potential for growth in export markets
- Reviewed financial statements for at least one year along with interim statements
- $2 million of commercial general liability insurance that includes products and completed operations liability
- Operate in one of the priority sectors (advanced manufacturing, aerospace, construction, clean technology, professional services, information communications technology, digital media, and life sciences)
