PrairiesCan — Regional Economic Growth through Innovation — Business Scale-Up and Productivity

For small and mid-sized companies that are ready to move beyond steady growth and into large-scale expansion, the PrairiesCan Regional Economic Growth through Innovation — Business Scale-Up and Productivity program is designed to help close the financing gap. This initiative supports businesses looking to increase productivity, bring innovative technologies to market, or diversify into new domestic and export markets. It is particularly relevant for companies operating in advanced manufacturing, clean technology, digital industries, health and bio-sciences, and value-added agriculture or resource processing that have a clear plan to scale.

Delivered by Prairies Economic Development Canada, the program offers significant repayable funding—often in the hundreds of thousands and reaching into the millions—to offset a portion of major growth projects. Support can be used for investments such as new equipment, technology adoption, commercialization activities, and the skilled labour needed to execute complex expansion plans. The funding is interest-free and structured to be repaid after a grace period, which helps businesses preserve cash flow while focusing on execution and revenue growth.

The program places strong emphasis on measurable economic outcomes, including job creation, increased sales, and stronger export performance, and is currently accepting applications on an ongoing basis through a staged process. For prairie-based SMEs with ambitious growth plans, understanding the project expectations and financial structure in detail is an important next step.