Digital Advisor Helps Canadian Businesses Unlock CDAP Grants for Digital Transformation

Couch & Associates is helping organizations utilize CDAP grants as 95% of the program’s budget remains unspent

The Canada Digital Adoption Program (CDAP) was launched in 2022 with the objective of supporting Canadian businesses in their digital transformation journey. The program provides funding to eligible organizations to develop a digital adoption plan followed by an interest-free loan to invest in technology acquisition and implementation. CDAP’s ultimate goal is to foster growth and make Canadian organizations more competitive in the global market.

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The program was allocated $4 billion to be distributed between 90,000 organizations. However, a recent article by the Globe & Mail revealed that only around 3% of the total budget had been spent in the first year of the four-year program. The main reasons cited for the slow progress were difficulty navigating the application process and a lack of marketing to promote the program.

Nonetheless, CDAP has been a notable success for organizations that were able to apply and receive funding. Grant recipients have leveraged the program to adopt new digital technologies and enhance their online presence, resulting in increased sales, improved customer engagement, and overall business growth. One such example is XEOS Imaging Inc., who utilized their grant to centralize their data and efficiently manage projects, invoices, and client support tickets with a new CRM.

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As a digital advisor, Couch & Associates is responsible for delivering digital adoption roadmaps under CDAP but have also been providing assistance in the application stage, “It was evident that people required some extra help to get started but, after that, it’s been an easy and efficient process which is delivering excellent results,” says Anita Cordeiro, who has been guiding people through their applications, “Once the engagement starts, we work with organizations to identify the business areas that would benefit the most from the introduction of modern digital solutions and develop a strategy to acquire and integrate new technologies, which is typically a six-week process.”

To take advantage of CDAP funding, your organization must meet specific eligibility requirements, including being a Canadian resident sole proprietorship or being incorporated federally or provincially, and being a for-profit, privately owned business. Additionally, you must have between 1 – 499 full-time equivalent employees and at least $500,000 in annual revenues in one of the previous three tax years.

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