Funding Alert: Creative Export Canada (CEC)

The CEC program is designed to promote the discovery of Canadian works in foreign markets and to increase the profitability of Canada's creative industries.

The Creative Export Canada program is designed to promote the discovery of Canadian works in foreign markets and to increase the profitability of Canada’s creative industries.

The Creative Export Canada program is designed to promote the discovery of Canadian works in foreign markets and to increase the profitability of Canada’s creative industries. The program has 2 components: Export-Ready Stream and Export Development Stream.

Intake Period:

• Export-Ready Stream: April 23, 2025 for projects with expenses between April 1, 2025 and March 31, 2026.
• Export Development Stream: to be confirmed, for projects with expenses between April 1, 2025 and March 31, 2026.

Funding Amount of CEC

• Export-Ready Stream: up to $2.5 million per application, covering up to 75% of eligible costs.
• Export Development Stream: grant or contribution of up to $90,000 per fiscal year, covering up to 75% of eligible costs.

Objectives of the Creative Export Canada

Export-Ready Stream

• For projects expected to generate export revenues, and for those contributing to the development of Canadian creative industries worldwide.

Export Development Stream

• For creative industries with little or no export experience, helps to increase their sales in international markets. It also enables experienced exporters to penetrate international markets where they currently have little or no sales, and to develop new or existing international business networks.

Eligible Applicants: Creative Export Canada

Companies from one of the following sectors:

• • Arts and crafts, audiovisual, design (limited to exhibition design, fashion design, artistic product design, public art design and urban design)
  • Music, performing arts, publishing (books and periodicals)
  • Visual arts, interactive digital media (in combination with at least one of the industries listed above)

Requirements of the Creative Export Canada

Export-Ready Stream

• Have a maximum of $500 million in annual revenues, including the parent company’s annual revenues
• Be export-ready on the project start date
• Expect to generate export revenues
• Export content from one or more of the creative industries
• Be at least 25% financed by private sources

Export Development Stream

• Annual sales of less than $10 million
• Have creative content developed and ready to sell by the project start date
• Enable creative industries to increase their sales on international markets and/or develop international business networks and partnerships
• Expect to generate export revenues or enable export revenues to be generated for the beneficiary or project participants/third parties
• Have content to export from one or more of the creative industries
• Focus on a specific target export market(s)

Eligible Projects: Creative Export Canada

Export-Ready Stream: total expenses of at least $150,000

• Development costs and/or costs of acquiring digital or other technologies
• Professional services or the portion of employee salaries directly related to time spent on the project
• Travel costs directly related to the project and not exceeding authorized government business travel rates
• Marketing expenses
• Administrative costs related to the project (e.g. office supplies, postage and online storage), limited to a maximum of 15% of the total amount requested under the Export Loan component.
• Translation and interpretation costs related to the project, limited to 10% of the total amount of funding requested under the Export Loan component.

Export Development Stream : a minimum total cost of $15,000

• Export planning activities, limited to a maximum of $30,000 of the total amount requested per fiscal year
• Export training and mentoring activities
• International market preparation activities

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 and get your application started ASAP before program funding is depleted! We’re here to help and answer all of your questions.

Find out more about our Grants process here.