In Atlantic Canada, lenders and funders read your business plan before they decide. You can get help to write it, and in some cases that help is paid for.
Why the lender asked for a plan
- Nova Scotia's Small Business Loan Guarantee Program expects a business plan and financials for the credit union's review, because the credit union assesses your ability to service the debt.
- Finance PEI's Entrepreneur Loan Program asks for a full business plan and a two to three year cash flow forecast, then an interview with an account manager.
- A CBDC loan file opens with a business plan demonstrating economic viability, plus financial statements or projections.
- For ACOA's Regional Economic Growth through Innovation, approval is discretionary and relationship-based, and a strong, well-documented business plan with clear productivity goals improves your chances.
For most of these programs, the plan is the main part of your application.
Who helps with the plan, and who pays for it
Four kinds of help exist in the region, and three of them are funded.
The plan is an eligible cost in PEI. Innovation PEI's Small Business Assistance covers 50% of eligible costs for professional fees for plans and strategies, to a maximum grant of $2,500, and business plan development is a named eligible project alongside marketing plans, market research, and human resource or operational efficiency plans. In your first year of operations you can add up to $2,500 for marketing and promotion, for a maximum of $5,000 in year one. It is non-repayable, funds are limited and awarded first come, first served, and you apply before you spend.
Bigger consulting budgets, restricted sectors. Also in PEI, Strategic Improvement Assistance pays up to 40% of eligible costs, capped at $20,000 per approved project and $20,000 per business within a 12-month period, for outside expertise on strategic planning, operational efficiency assessments and quality assurance. It is open to the manufacturing, processing, ICT, bioscience and cleantech sectors only, and you must get formal approval before you spend any money.
The highest cost share for planning is for Indigenous businesses. Ulnooweg's Aboriginal Business Financing Program pays non-repayable contributions up to 75% for business planning and feasibility studies, up to 60% for marketing initiatives, up to 40% for establishment, expansion or acquisition, and up to 90% for business support and project-related management. It is restricted to Indigenous entrepreneurs and community-owned businesses in the Atlantic provinces, and Ulnooweg's wider Atlantic Indigenous Business Fund lists business planning, feasibility studies, management training and business advisors among its eligible project types.
Counselling that comes with the loan. The CBDC First-time Entrepreneur Loan pairs capital with expert counselling and training, and the process starts with a consultation with your local CBDC business advisor. The CBDC Newcomer Loan Program in Newfoundland and Labrador involves training and counselling sessions before or during the application. The CBDC immigrant loan pilot comes with advisory support. The advisor you talk to works at the office that decides your loan.
Nova Scotia: loan guarantee financing up to $500,000
The Small Business Loan Guarantee Program, run by the Nova Scotia Co-operative Council with participating credit unions and the province, reaches up to $500,000 in financing across term loans, working capital and lines of credit, for start-ups, business purchases and expansions. It is repayable financing with the province's loan guarantee behind it, not a grant, so you repay principal plus interest.
If exporting is in the plan, Invest Nova Scotia's Export Development Program reimburses up to $15,000 per fiscal year, or up to $25,000 for the six priority sectors with over $100,000 in revenue entering new export markets, and it explicitly declines businesses lacking a business plan and export strategy. More: Nova Scotia startup funding and the Nova Scotia funding hub.
New Brunswick: CBDC loans up to $150,000
New Brunswick businesses can use the region-wide CBDC loans. The CBDC General Business Loan and the CBDC First-time Entrepreneur Loan each reach up to $150,000 for rural businesses (the General Business Loan runs terms of one to ten years), covering start-up costs, fixed assets, leasehold improvements, franchise purchases and working capital. The CBDC Innovation Loan reaches up to $150,000 for new equipment, software and processes. In urban centres the Impact Loan Program lends up to $50,000 at low interest with no penalty for early repayment. The CBDC Youth Loan serves entrepreneurs aged 18 to 34, and the CBDC immigrant loan pilot lends up to $20,000 to temporary residents only. ACOA also offers an interest-free repayable contribution. The official page does not list the amounts, so ask your ACOA officer about the contribution and cost share before you apply. See New Brunswick startup funding and the New Brunswick funding hub.
Prince Edward Island: up to $100,000, and the plan is a funded cost
Finance PEI's Entrepreneur Loan Program lends up to $100,000, with working capital capped at $35,000, at a floating rate of TD Bank prime plus 3% and a 10% equity requirement. The Micro-Loan Program lends up to $15,000 at TD Bank prime plus 4.5% over terms up to five years, for tools, equipment, professional fees or general start-up costs. Licensed tourism operators have Tourism Financing Assistance: long-term loans generally up to 80% of the fair market value or purchase price of the asset over up to 20 years, plus operating loans covering up to 100% of pre-season preparation. Each of them reviews your business plan. Start at PEI startup funding and the PEI funding hub.
Newfoundland and Labrador: CBDC loans and a newcomer loan
NL businesses can use the same CBDC loans, and the province has its own newcomer program: the CBDC Newcomer Loan Program lends up to $20,000 with terms up to ten years, built for newcomers who cannot access other funding because of residency status, for opening a restaurant, retail store, salon, clinic or contracting business, or buying an existing one. Approval depends on your business plan and ability to repay. More in Newfoundland and Labrador startup funding and the NL funding hub.
The costing section: use written quotes
Reviewers look closely at the numbers for the actual work, so give the costs as much care as the market analysis.
Look at what the programs ask for. Innovation PEI's Capital Acquisition Support, a manufacturing, processing and export-sector program, wants a project description, written quotations for costs, and two years of financial statements, or a business plan for new ventures. Strategic Improvement Assistance wants financial statements, a business plan, a project description and cost estimates with quotes. Finance PEI wants a two to three year cash flow forecast. A plan that says "new equipment and a renovation, roughly what the neighbour paid" is a guess. A plan carrying a real written quote, line by line, is evidence.
Three rules that decide whether you keep the money
- Approval comes before purchase. PEI's grant programs require formal approval before you spend, or the costs will not be covered.
- Cost-share means reimbursement. Nova Scotia's Export Development Program and PEI's cost-share programs pay you back after you have paid, so plan the cash.
- A loan is not a grant. The CBDC loans, the Nova Scotia loan guarantee and the Finance PEI programs are repayable financing with interest. Only the non-repayable contributions, such as Small Business Assistance or Ulnooweg's ABFP, are money you keep.
BBN Labs does not write your business plan. It explains the program rules and sends deadline alerts so you do not miss a date, and you apply on the official program site.
Want the whole country on one page? See the startup funding map, province by province.