Eligibility

Eligibility

Futurpreneur is here to empower aspiring young entrepreneurs, ages 18-39, who are Canadian citizens or permanent residents currently living in Canada.

To determine if you are eligible to participate in Futurpreneur offerings and programs, please carefully review our general eligibility criteria. 

For offering-specific eligibility requirements, please select the Futurpreneur offering (e.g. Black Entrepreneur Startup Program or Indigenous Entrepreneur Startup Program) you are interested in and review what specific eligibility criteria those offerings require. 

Entrepreneur requirements

  • You are a Canadian citizen or permanent resident of Canada and you physically reside in Canada.
  • You are between the ages of 18-39 at time of your Futurpreneur application.
  • You can demonstrate some training or experience related to your business idea.
More entrepreneur eligibility requirements
  • Your business will create full-time sustainable employment for you (the applicant(s)), except for Side Hustle.
  • You produce a complete and viable business plan and cash flow by the end of the application process.
  • You agree to provide authorization for Futurpreneur to carry out a personal credit check (hard inquiry).
  • You assure that Futurpreneur loan proceeds will not be used for refinancing existing debt.
  • In the case of bankruptcy, you demonstrate that you have been discharged from bankruptcy for at least five years.
    • Five years counted from date of bankruptcy discharge.
    • In the case of a consumer proposal, you demonstrate that at least one year has passed since the receipt of a Certificate of Full Performance.
    • This is one year counted from the date of full performance appearing on the Certificate of Full Performance issued by the Trustee.
  • Your federal, provincial and municipal taxes are paid up to date.
  • You must not be named as party to a lawsuit.
    • Applicants and/or applicant businesses must not be named in a lawsuit against them.
  • Eligible applicants must represent more than 50 per cent controlling ownership of the applicant business.
  • Eligible applicants with 5 per cent OR less ownership are not required to be party to the application.
  • Must demonstrate socially acceptable content and activities of the business, its website, marketing materials and social media.
  • Not available to full-time students unless in their final year of studies.
  • You have majority control over the applicant business and its activities, not simply act as an agent or employee of the business.

Startup business requirements

  • Yours must be a Canadian business.
    • Your business must be registered and operate in Canada.
    • Your business’ revenues must be deposited to a Canadian business bank account and be subject to Canadian taxes.
  • Your business is not yet operational or has been operating full time for 24 months or less (except Side Hustle).
A list of ineligible startup business types
  • Businesses that can place their owners or customers in vulnerable situations (e.g. services involving intimate activities)
  • Gambling (gaming) and contests (pay for a chance to win) including casinos, bingo halls and racetracks
  • Businesses in which violence is encouraged or depicted
  • Racial, discriminatory and exclusionary types of content or activities take place
  • Dating apps and websites that are “hookup” sites
  • Editorial (opinion/news based) publications or content including streaming apps, radio, television or social media blogs or similar activities with content that may be deemed as socially unacceptable, difficult to control or giving rise to reputational risk
  • Establishments where alcohol consumption on site exceeds (or is seen to exceed) 49 per cent of total revenues
  • Night clubs, bars, lounges, cabarets, pool halls, video arcades, festivals or events, including marketing activities, or any similar activity that may give rise to reputational risk
  • Businesses involved with nudity, sex products, services or adult content or so marketed
    • This includes any activities, products or content of this nature including singles events and mixers.
  • Businesses involved with recreational tobacco and/or marijuana including cultivation of tobacco and/or marijuana as well as;
    • Recreational smoking (tobacco and cannabis), vapes, e-cigarettes, shisha/hookah lounges, whole body cryotherapy, and any product, service or activity seen to pose a risk to public health will not be supported
  • Businesses involved with or causing unregulated health risks;
    • Unregulated health risk – recreational tobacco and marijuana is unsupported due to public health risk. Note: convenience store operations can be acceptable since they may sell these in the mix with many other products; case by case
    • Any health product, food or drug considered for support must be compliant with all applicable regulations 
    • Any product or service that poses a potential risk to public health must be regulated  
  • Business involved with, selling or producing firearms or accessories
    • Target practice ranges may be eligible on a case by case basis
  • Importing/exporting from certain high risk countries is not supported
    • Futurpreneur does not support businesses involved with countries that are not compliant with anti-money laundering and anti-terrorism measures per the Financial Action Task Force or that have Canadian government sanctions in effect. Importing/exporting activities that are proscribed by government, are illegal, or give rise to reputational risk will not be supported
  • Any activities that are illegal or those proscribed by government regulation, or that give rise to reputational risk
  • Non-secular organizations or enterprises of an exclusive nature where membership is not available to the general public
  • Used and new vehicles and equipment sales and leasing
    • Mixed revenue models where the sale or lease of used equipment comprises a minority of revenues; case by case basis
  • Self-promoters
    • Recording your own songs, publishing your own book/s or similar self-promoting activities are not supported
  • Residential housing construction or rentals which also includes retirement homes and long-term care centres
  • Financial services, quasi financial services, money services, payment services, or fiduciary duty;
    • Fiduciary duty means handling or holding funds entrusted for a third party or where payments intended for a third party route through the business bank account;
    • Financial services: Futurpreneur does not support lenders, mortgage brokers or investment brokers/brokerages or any similar activity (financial advice, only, is acceptable with no brokering);
    • Money services: Futurpreneur does not support payday loans, finance leasing (lease to own), currency exchange models or any similar activity; and/or
    • Payment services: Futurpreneur does not support payment processing where the applicant business is actually the platform to collect customer personal payment details and perform the financial (payment) transactions.
    • Cryptocurrency/ bitcoin not supported at this time (not regulated) 
  • Assure that your revenue generating products or services are ready for market (not in the research and development phase) 
  • Jewellers selling precious and semi-precious stones and precious metals

The legal stuff and other notes

Consult each Futurpreneur’s offering and program page to learn about its specific eligibility requirements.

Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC) eligibility  may differ from Futurpreneur’s requirements.