Funding Alert: The Southwestern Ontario Development Fund

The Southwestern Ontario Development Fund provides support for projects and investments to businesses, municipalities, and not-for-profit organizations for economic development in Southwestern Ontario.

The Southwestern Ontario Development Fund (SWODF) provides support for projects and investments to businesses, municipalities, and not-for-profit organizations for economic development in Southwestern Ontario.

The Southwestern Ontario Development Fund opens January 12, 2023. The eligibility checklist is due February 9, 2023 and the final application deadline is February 23, 2023. The project must be between 3 – 4 years in length. This Program provides up to $5 million in grant funding per organization over the program period.

Program Funding Amount

Business Projects:

• Loan: 15% to a maximum of $5 million; interest-free for project period (up to 4 years)
• Grant: 30% of the 15% loan, to a maximum of $500K, may be forgiven if targets are met

Rural Ontario:

• Grants of 15% to a maximum of $500,000

Foreign Direct Investment:

• $1,500,000 grants available for strategic projects

Eligible Applicants

For businesses located in Southwestern Ontario that meet the following criteria:

• 3 years of operations and financial statements (audited or reviewed)
• 10 employees
• Create 5 new jobs (or 30% increase for those with fewer than 15 employees)
• Invest $500K

For businesses in rural communities (population of less than 100,000):

• 3 years of operations and financial statements (audited or reviewed)
• 5 – 100 employees
• Create 5 new jobs (or 30% increase for those with fewer than 15 employees)
• Invest $200K in rural Ontario

Funding Process

1. Register for Transfer Payment Ontario (TPON)
2. Complete eligibility checklist questionnaire (due 10 business days prior to deadline)
3. Complete full application form

Program Objectives

Support to help growing companies in southwestern Ontario make investments to:

• Create jobs and build talent
• Attract private sector investment
• Business growth & economic impact
• Innovation, cluster development

Eligible Projects

• Equipment and new technologies
• Investment in new operations in Southwest Ontario
• Talent and training
• Investment in expansion, new products or services, new markets

Ineligible Expenses

Purchase of land or buildings; equipment leasing; training costs supported by Ministry of Labour, Training and Skills Development; operating costs

Thinking of applying for financing? These funds are highly competitive, contact us today to get started!

Why Ayming?

Our team of experts will take the time to understand your current and future planned projects. We will then align these initiatives to the program in order to provide you with the highest ROI and the highest chance of approval.

• We have extensive experience working with Canadian SMEs and have the expertise to properly position and maximize your application to secure your business funding.
• We are the first Canadian company to establish a national grants practice.
• Our proprietary artificial intelligence (AI) driven database of grants provides live access to thousands of programs, including a custom snapshot of all federal and provincial grants currently available to each company specifically.
• Our highly experienced delivery teams boast over 50 + years of combined grants experience and over 200+ years of combined SR&ED experience, meaning you partner with true subject matter experts who are invested in your success.
• No risk success-fee remuneration.

Contact one of our Grant experts today to get your application started ASAP before program funding is depleted! We’re here to help and answer all of your questions.