AFO · Export financing
Capital that crosses the border with the business.
Export financing addresses two distinct gaps at once: the up-front cost of entering a new market (research, travel, trade shows, translation, IP protection) and the working-capital cycle of fulfilling export orders (longer DSO, currency exposure, foreign-buyer credit risk). Different instruments cover each gap; the right structure usually layers two or three.
What makes this use case distinct
- CanExport SME funds the entry cost — non-dilutive, non-repayable.
- EDC guarantees let domestic lenders stretch on export growth.
- Currency hedging modelled alongside the financing structure.
How this is usually structured
Export, in practice.
CanExport SME reimburses up to 50% of eligible export-market-entry expenses, capped at $50K per project. Non-dilutive, non-repayable, project-scoped — funds the discovery and entry costs that would otherwise come out of working capital. Eligible expenses include travel, trade shows, market research, IP protection in the target market, translation, and digital marketing aimed at the foreign audience.
Export Development Canada (EDC) provides working-capital facilities sized to support an export sales pipeline rather than just historical revenue. The EDC loan guarantee program lets domestic lenders stretch on businesses growing into new markets — the EDC guarantee covers the incremental risk the lender wouldn't otherwise take. For mid-market exporters, this is often the difference between getting funded and not.
Trade finance — letters of credit, documentary collections, export factoring, foreign-buyer credit insurance — manages the working-capital and credit-risk side of fulfilling export orders. Currency hedging through FX forwards and options is a separate but related decision; a profitable export contract priced in USD can become an unprofitable one if the loonie strengthens 5% during the production cycle. The CPA models the structure end-to-end so the export plan and the financing plan are designed together.
1 program in the catalog · 1 live
Programs that fit export.
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.
CanExport SME
LiveFederal grant to help Canadian SMEs enter or expand into new export markets.
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.
- 3 programs
Working capital
Working capital is the gap between cash going out (payroll, suppliers, inventory) and cash coming in (collections, deposits). When the gap grows faster than the business can self-fund, the right answer is a facility that scales with the gap — not a fixed term loan paying out long after the cash crunch has passed.
Explore the use case
- 5 programs
Equipment
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.
Explore the use case
- 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
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.