ACOA Business Development Program (BDP)Up to 50% of the capital required, as interest-free unsecured repayable funding. ACOA publishes no fixed maximum.
The Business Development Program helps Atlantic Canadian businesses start, modernise and grow.
Written and reviewed by
Chase Miller, Chief Business Development Officer and Co-Founder
Chase Miller is Chief Business Development Officer and Co-Founder of Impact Applications, a Calgary grant consultancy that works with businesses across Canada on federal and provincial grants, tax credits and interest-free loans, and manages the whole process from first assessment through claims and reporting. He runs the first assessment on client engagements, deciding which programs a business should pursue and in what order, and has worked on Canadian government funding since co-founding the firm in 2023. LinkedIn
Program facts checked against the official source:
- average funding secured per client
- $334,132 average funding secured per client
- approval rate
- 94% approval rate
About this program
The Business Development Program helps Atlantic Canadian businesses start, modernise and grow. ACOA describes the support as repayable funding that is interest-free and unsecured, so it is not a grant: the money is paid back, without interest or security. There is no published intake window; applications are made to ACOA directly.
Who is eligible
Businesses based in Atlantic Canada launching, modernizing or growing. Support is repayable but interest-free and unsecured, which makes it materially different from a commercial loan and from a grant. Amounts are set project by project.
Verified against the official source
A person checked this program against the administering body's own page on that date. Programs change between checks, so confirm eligibility, amounts and deadlines before you apply. How dates like this are earned: our verification methodology.
Official program page