Government Funding Programs for Marketing in B2B Companies

There is a world of opportunity for small and mid-sized Canadian B2B companies. The federal and provincial governments recognize this and have launched a number of programs, from grants to tax credits, to help Canadian companies market themselves and get their message out to the world.

Here’s a list of popular funding programs for Canadian SMBs in a variety of industries. These programs support several kinds of marketing, from international tradeshows to retaining marketing resources.

Export Market Access

This is a $30K grant (or 50% of expenses) for participating in trade shows abroad, travel costs, and other related marketing expenses. In order to be eligible for this grant, your company must have between 5-500 employees, have revenue of over $500K, and be incorporated for a minimum of 2 years. This is for international tradeshows only, and you must get acceptance from Export Market Access before you spend any of the money (ie, you can’t claim for a show that you’ve already paid for). For more information, click here.

IRAP – ARP

This is a $50k grant (up to 75% of consulting expenses and 100% of internal labour). With this program you can conduct market research, develop a marketing strategy, create new branding, conduct competitive intelligence, undertake a feasibility study for a new product and a number of other projects. For more information click, here.

CME SMART Prosperity Now

This is a $75K grant (or 33% of expenses) to help SMBs purchase capital equipment, fund international marketing, environmental efficiencies, and foreign market orientation. You can apply anytime until March 2014, however your company must be incorporated for at least 2 years, have a minimum of 15 employees, and have manufacturing operations stationed in Ontario. For more information click, here.

Going Global Innovation

This is a $75K grant (or 75% of expenses) to help small businesses explore international collaboration partners to bring a new product to market. Your company must be dedicated to science, technology and innovation. Your sales must be less than $50MM, and you must employ less than 500 people. For more information click, here.

Small Business Internship Program (SBIP)

This is a 12-week ($10K max) wage subsidy program to assist with the hiring of a university graduate to help with online marketing strategies, tactics, and implementation (social media, SEO, website development, etc.) To be eligible, your company must be incorporated and have a functional website. For more information click, here.

Centre for Business and Social Entrepreneurship

This is a free program where a group of University of Guelph senior commerce students provide free market research, competitive research, marketing plan, or business plan construction. Applications for the coming school semester (Sept-Dec 2012) are being accepted here.

Have you used any other government funding programs for marketing? I’d love to hear your suggestions.