PacifiCan Business Acceleration Pilot (BizAP)

Eligibility for this grant is determined by specific requirements related to the applicant's organizational structure and activities aimed at supporting high-growth-potential businesses.

• The applicant must be either a not-for-profit or for-profit organization focused on supporting businesses in their scale-up ambitions.
• Eligible types of organizations include business accelerators, angel networks, Indigenous organizations (including Indigenous-led nonprofit organizations and Indigenous-owned businesses), industry associations, municipalities, groups or consortia of eligible recipients, post-secondary educational institutions, and social enterprises.
• All eligible applicants must be legal entities capable of entering into legally binding agreements.
• The proposed activities must address critical scale-up needs such as capital attraction, peer and expert mentoring and networking, and market assessment and development.

Who is eligible?

Eligible expenses

This grant supports activities that address critical scale-up needs for businesses in British Columbia. These initiatives aim at facilitating access to capital, mentorship, and market development for high-growth-potential enterprises.

• Capital attraction to assist businesses in obtaining necessary investment.
• Peer and expert mentoring and networking opportunities to guide businesses through scaling processes.
• Market assessment and development activities to help businesses identify and penetrate new markets.

Eligible geographic areas

This grant is designed to support businesses across British Columbia, as indicated by the specific economic focus and goals of PacifiCan. Eligible geographical areas are targeted within British Columbia to enhance local economic development.

• All regions within the province of British Columbia, Canada.

The evaluation and selection of projects for the PacifiCan Business Acceleration Pilot (BizAP) are based on specific criteria to ensure strong alignment with the program's objectives.

• Value for money.
• Participant business selection.
• Capital attraction activities.
• Market activities.
• Mentoring and networking activities.
• Participant accountability.
• Management capacity.
• Financial capacity.

This grant focuses on supporting high-growth-potential businesses in British Columbia through targeted investments and offers funding mechanisms that cater to both not-for-profit and for-profit organizations.

• Non-repayable contributions are available to not-for-profit organizations.
• Repayable contributions are available to for-profit organizations, usually repaid at 0% interest over 5 years.
• In-kind contributions will be considered up to a maximum of 50% of the total private sector funding amount.
• All project costs should be incremental and essential to the project to be eligible for reimbursement.
• Hospitality, sole-sourced consultant fees, and advocacy-related costs are generally not supported.
• EOIs will be competitively assessed, and only the strongest will advance to the full application stage.
• Funding decisions are typically provided within 90 business days of receiving a complete funding proposal.