Southwestern Ontario Development Fund (SWODF) — Business project loans

• Cash flow forecast
• Articles of incorporation or letters patent
• Corporate family tree
• Three years of financial statements
• Letters of support, if available

Who is eligible?

• For-profit businesses registered to carry out business in Ontario
• Municipalities
• Not-for-profit organizations
• Economic development organizations or sector organizations leading community economic development projects

Who is not eligible

• Start ups
• Retail businesses
• Primary production businesses such as mining (e.g. extraction), agriculture (e.g. growing and harvesting crops), and forestry (e.g. harvesting lumber)
• Construction, personal services, consulting, electricity generation, waste management, recycling, information and communication services, and academic research businesses
• Stand-alone restaurants and hotels, unless transformative and considered a regional priority

Eligible expenses

• Municipal economic infrastructure costs that address a community priority.
• Business attraction costs, including presentations to potential investors and preparation of information and promotional materials; written approval from Ontario is required before incurring business attraction costs outside Ontario.
• Construction, improvements, or modifications to the project facility, plus site servicing, electrical service upgrades, and other work needed to carry out the project.
• Equipment and machinery, non-recurring project labour, project materials, and specialized third-party expertise.
• Project-related training delivery, recruitment costs, permits, inspections, and other fees directly attributable to the project.

Ineligible Costs and Activities

• Ongoing operations, maintenance, capital replacement, and normal production or working capital costs.
• Refinancing, acquisitions, buyouts, and restructuring or relocation within Ontario.
• Land or building purchases, landscaping, staff parking, vehicles, off-site equipment, and replacement capital equipment.
• Advertising space, travel, hospitality, meals, and sales, distribution, or shipping costs.
• Funding proposal preparation, shareholder payments, debt service, federal or provincial income taxes, surtaxes, in-kind contributions, overhead, rent, and costs incurred outside Ontario, except purchases from suppliers located outside Ontario.

Eligible geographic areas

• Brant
• Bruce
• Chatham-Kent
• Dufferin
• Elgin
• Essex
• Grey
• Haldimand
• Huron
• Lambton
• Middlesex
• Niagara
• Norfolk
• Oxford
• Perth
• Simcoe
• Waterloo
• Wellington

• Alignment with program objectives
• Relation to other projects under consideration
• Regional economic development benefits
• For loan requests, whether all other financing needed to complete the project is secured and whether the applicant demonstrates a positive debt service coverage ratio in the previous three years and over the loan term

• Complete the Regional Development Program Business Stream or Community Economic Development Stream eligibility self-screener.
• If eligible, discuss your project with the Business Advisory Services Team or a regional advisor.
• Access Transfer Payment Ontario (TPON) using the link provided and open your file.
• Download the application form in TPON and complete all required sections, including Part 1 – Eligibility Checklist and Part 2 – Application Form.
• Upload the completed application in TPON, ensuring the TPON case number matches the case number on the form.
• Submit the completed application during an intake period before the application deadline.

• Applications are reviewed after the intake deadline and only complete applications are assessed.
• Applicants are notified of decisions within approximately 60 business days of the application deadline.
• If approved, the applicant must enter into a funding agreement with the Province of Ontario.
• No payments are made until the agreement is signed and any conditions for disbursement are met.

• There are four application intake periods each year, with notification typically given within 60 business days of the application deadline.
• The project start date must be after the application period close date, and projects must span between 3 and 4 years.
• Applicants must demonstrate compliance with all relevant laws and not owe fees or taxes to the Province of Ontario.
• For loan applications, financial materials must show a positive debt service coverage ratio in the previous three years and forecasted over the loan term.