AFO · Equipment financing
Capital secured against the equipment you're buying.
Equipment financing is the cleanest tier of debt to underwrite — the asset itself secures the facility, the useful life of the asset matches the loan term, and the lender has a clear recovery path if things go sideways. That clarity translates into faster approvals, higher LTVs (75–90%), and less restrictive covenants than cash-flow lending.
What makes this use case distinct
- CSBFP first when it fits — cheapest dollar in the equipment category.
- 75–90% LTV on the equipment itself — preserves working-capital lines.
- Lease vs term loan modelled, with the balance-sheet impact each way.
How this is usually structured
Equipment, in practice.
The CSBFP equipment stream guarantees up to $1.15M total to a single business, including up to $500K on equipment. It's the cheapest dollar in this category — Prime + 3% — when the business and the equipment both qualify. For most owner-operators, this is the first conversation to have before exploring private alternatives.
Above the CSBFP ceiling (and for businesses that don't fit the program's revenue or sector criteria), conventional equipment finance from banks, manufacturer finance arms, and independent equipment lenders fills the gap. Term loans at 75–90% LTV with rates from Prime + 2% to Prime + 5%, depending on the equipment class and the borrower's credit profile.
Equipment leasing — operating or capital — is a third path that keeps the equipment off the balance sheet (operating) or shifts the risk onto the lessor (capital). Useful when the equipment depreciates quickly, when the business wants to preserve borrowing capacity for other uses, or when the equipment is a fit for sale-leaseback against existing owned assets.
5 programs in the catalog · 3 live
Programs that fit equipment.
Each card links to the program profile. Coming-soon programs are surfaced honestly — the screener routes there with a consultation CTA instead of a self-serve apply link until the integration is wired through.
Government-backed term loan for equipment, leasehold, and real property. Up to $1.15M.
Cash-flow-underwritten facility from a chartered bank, credit union, or Schedule II lender.
Equipment-specific term loan or lease at 75–90% LTV on the equipment.
Regional Development Agency Programs
Coming soonFederal regional programs (ACOA, FedDev Ontario, PrairiesCan, PacifiCan, CED-Q, CanNor).
Clean Technology Investment Tax Credit
Coming soonFederal refundable ITC on eligible clean-technology equipment investments.
Other use cases
Funding a different need?
Each use case has its own structuring conversation. Working capital and equipment look nothing like an MBO; an export ramp doesn’t look like a refinance.
- 10 programs
Expansion
Expansion capital — a second location, a new production line, a step-change in headcount — fails when it's sized purely on historical cash flow. The new location won't be profitable in month one. The lender needs to see a credible projection of the post-expansion cash flow and the ramp window in between, with the coverage maintained throughout.
Explore the use case
- 3 programs
Acquisition
Acquisition financing turns on the combined entity, not the buyer alone. Lenders underwrite the deal on pro forma cash flow, post-synergy coverage, and the buyer's integration plan. The package needs to demonstrate that the combined business carries the proposed debt cleanly — and that the buyer has run the diligence to back the projection.
Explore the use case
- 3 programs
Refinancing
Refinancing is rarely just about the rate. The original structure was set when the business was a different size, in a different rate environment, with a different mix of operating priorities. A refi is a chance to reset the structure — term, covenants, advance rate, guarantee scope — to where the business actually is now, not where it was three years ago.
Explore the use case
Match the instrument to the use, not the other way round.
Twenty-minute call. Bring the use of proceeds and a rough sense of where the business stands today; we’ll walk through which instrument or stack fits, what providers will want to see, and how long the engagement takes.