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AFO · Grants & refundable tax credits

CanExport SME

Federal grant to help Canadian SMEs enter or expand into new export markets.

Program status and primary actions

Live — self-serve apply availableStart applicationTry the screener

Quick facts.

Size range
$10,000 — $50,000
Cost / pricing
Reimburses up to 50% of eligible export-market-entry costs (travel, trade shows, market research, IP protection, translation, digital marketing).
Typical speed to close
Weeks to a few months
Capital type
Government grant

Eligibility

Who this program is for.

Canadian incorporated SME with at least one full-time employee and revenue of $100K–$100M. The target market must not currently represent more than 10% of sales.

Use of proceeds

What this capital can fund.

Outside these categories the program either isn’t a fit or requires a non-standard structuring conversation. The screener cross-references your specific use of proceeds against the full catalog before recommending an instrument.

What Capital Toolkit does

CPA-led engagement, not lead generation.

Whether the answer is CanExport SMEor something else in the catalog, the engagement starts the same way: a CPA reviews the use of proceeds, the balance sheet, and the projections to confirm the right structure. Only then do we build the package and approach providers. The catalog page's screener exists to triage cleanly; this page exists so you can read the program in detail before that conversation.

If CanExport SMEis the right fit, you’ll get a normalized financial package, a coverage or eligibility analysis appropriate to the program category, and provider / program outreach handled by a CPA with the engagement still under one roof.

Book a consultationBack to AFO overview

Sources & verification.

Program details (external)
Open program page (opens in a new tab)
Catalog entry last verified

Program criteria, rates, and ceilings change. Capital Toolkit verifies the catalog entry against the provider periodically, but the linked program page is always the authoritative source at the point of application.

Where this program shows up

The hubs that feature CanExport SME.

This program is curated into the hubs below — industry verticals where it’s a typical fit, business stages where it’s the right answer, and funding stacks where it combines with others.

1 industry

Featured in industries

3 stages

Featured at stages

1 stack

Used in stacks

Related programs in the same family

Also in Grants & refundable tax credits.

See the full family landing

See every option side by side.

The full catalog groups debt, grants, equity, and alternative structures by family so you can compare like with like before booking a conversation.

Back to catalogUse the screener