Canadian Digital Adoption Program

Jeff Green | Jun 19, 2024

KEDCO, the Kingston Economic Development Organisation, wants to find Frontenac and Lennox and Addington County businesses who are interested in developing ecommerce options for their business.

KEDCO is working with the Government of Canada to promote the Canadian Digital Adoption Program (CDAP). 

CDAP has two components. One of them is a micro-granting program, providing $2,400 to eligible small businesses, with the goal of helping those businesses to get online, increase sales, adopt security software, connect with customers, improve social media marketing, and improve the user experience for online customers.

The second component of the program is to connect businesses with one of 11,000  E-Commerce Advisors across the country. The E-Commerce Advisors are trained to work with local small businesses to assess their digital needs and help them develop their e-commerce strategies and deploy new digital technologies.

Micah Imomotebegha, a digital programs coordinator with KEDCO, said that the program has been underway for some time, and KEDCO is now focussed on reaching out to rural business owners to see if they can access the funding and advisory support.

“We have not pushed the program out to Frontenac County thus far," Imomotebegha said, ''and want businesses in Frontenac County and Addington Highlands to take advantage of the program, and use it to expand and grow their business. A lot of businesses have migrated to the digital commerce space, and the more businesses that are able to take advantage of funding and support, the better.”

The eligibility criteria for the program are not onerous. Businesses need to be incorporated or registered (have a business number from the federal government), and have at least one employee or annual revenue over $30,000.

The grant money can be used to help  develop a new e-commerce website or add functionality to an existing site, such as an online reservation/booking tool, online ordering systems, or electronic payments.

It can be used to install an e-commerce platform (including subscription fees/costs), or to hire a consultant to develop digital marketing for an e-commerce store. It can also be used for web search optimisation or social media advertising.

But the funding cannot be used solely for marketing purposes. It must be tied to an overall e-commerce implementation plan.

The program is not designed to cover all the costs of upgrading the e-commerce activities of a business, as support is limited to 20% of the overall cost of hardware and software associated with the project.

“E-commerce can be of great benefit to businesses, including rural businesses such as lodges and even trades, and we have resources available to help business owners access the program,” said Imomotebegha.

Information about the program is available at the KEDCO website – invesinkingston.ca, under the business programs tab, or by entering Canadian Digital Adoption Program into a search engine.

“We are also planning an event on July 9th in Frontenac County, where we will have advisors available to help with the application process, and to answer questions about the program,” he said.

The location of that event will be announced shortly.