Entrepreneurship Funding Programs

Are you looking to start up, scale up, or buy a company? Get funded with Starter Company Plus!

The Starter Company Plus program provides entrepreneurs aged 18 and over with tailored advice, mentoring, and training to help you launch or expand your business. Additionally, you have the opportunity to receive a grant of up to $5,000.

Applications for the 2024 Starter Company Plus program are open now closed. Intake for 2025 will open in June 2025. 

Do you have an idea that you are super excited to bring to life or a business you are inspired start? Are you a student who is interested in learning what it would be like to be your own boss?

Get funded with Summer Company! Successful applicants get business education, 2 months of mentorship and up to $3,000 in funding.

To apply, you need a launch-ready business idea, a free summer, and a short business plan. This program is available for full time students between 15 - 29 years of age. 

The City of Richmond Hill has partnered with OCAD University to launch the Centre for Local Innovation and Collaboration (CLIC)! Funded by eCampus Ontario and Centennial College, this unique, design-driven centre for innovation is part of a broad-based approach to accelerating business growth and innovation.

CLIC exists to explore opportunities for local businesses to gain access to applied research and to leverage human-centred design expertise. 

For more information visit: Richmondhill.ca/CLIC

My Main Street, a $15-million investment, supports main street businesses across Ontario. Funded by the Government of Canada, through the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario), My Main Street is being delivered through two new streams:

• Business Sustainability Stream
  • This stream will assist brick-and-mortar businesses located on main streets across southern Ontario. Funding will support productivity enhancements through direct-to-business non-repayable contributions of up to $20,000. Funding will be made available to businesses that employ between 1 and 50 staff and provide a solid business case describing how the funding will strengthen their existing capacity and support their growth.
• Community Activator

• This stream assists community not-for-profit projects focused on high-impact placemaking activities. Support is provided in the form of non-repayable contributions of up to $250,000. Funded projects will include initiatives such as events and festivals, community enhancements and streetscape improvements.

For more information, application guide, and to apply for any of these two programs, please visit MyMainstreet.ca page.

The Digital Main Street Program funded by the Province of Ontario in partnership with the Ontario BIA Association seeks to help small main street businesses across Ontario improve their adoption of technologies to better promote themselves online, sell online and even run back-office processes online. Every business that wants to participate in the grant must first take an online assessment of their current technology use. Based on the assessment, the business will then develop a Digital Transformation Plan based on a template that will be provided which will detail their goals and what technologies they need to achieve those goals. To help put the plan into action, the business can then apply for the following grants:

• Grow Your Business Online Grant (CDAP) - up to $2,400 to help with the cost of adopting digital technologies;
• CLOSED ShopHERE powered by Google - free .ca domain, $500 credit for eBay listing, free curated livestreams from General Assembly, Google's advertising spend match; 70% off QuickBooks online, free Neo Financial's loyalty program.

For more information, please Learn more about the Digital Main Street Program.

Digitalization Competence Centre (DCC) is a Government of Ontario initiative led by Ontario Centre of Innovation (OCI) to drive digital modernization of Ontario small and medium enterprises (SMEs). There are two program streams to support SMEs in the adoption and implementation of digital technology:

• Digital Modernization and Adoption Plan (DMAP) - supports SMEs to understand and implement their organization's technology needs; up to $15,000 to develop a digital adoption plan.
• Technology Demonstration Program - for companies that completed DMAP project and are looking to implement digital technology laid out in DMAP; up to $150,000 available.

For more information and to apply, visit Digitalization Competence Centre program page.

Freshworks is a leading maker of cloud-based customer and employee engagement software. With this innovative partnership, Richmond Hill startups can receive 90% off the first year on the Freshworks suite of products and priority access to the Freshworks startup program including events, resources, workshops, mentoring and much more. 

To learn more about the program and apply please email rhsbec@richmondhill.ca.

ONTARIO MADE Manufacturing Investment Tax Credit

The Ontario Made Manufacturing Investment Tax Credit is a 10% refundable Corporate Income Tax credit for eligible corporations on qualifying investments in buildings, machinery and equipment for use in manufacturing or processing in the province. An eligible corporation could receive a tax credit of up to $2 million a year.