Small Business Grants Kitchener-Waterloo (2025): 36 Best Funding Programs for Kitchener-Waterloo Entrepreneurs

Summer Company is an amazing opportunity for young entrepreneurs to run their own business over Summer. Participants can expect to receive:

start-up money to kick-off a new summer business
advice and mentorship from local business leaders to help get the business up and running
Learning how to run your own student business is one of the best summer jobs you can have. You get to be your own boss while learning what it takes to manage a business. You’ll develop skills in areas such as sales, marketing, bookkeeping, customer relationship management, networking and more

The Waterloo Region Small Business Centre is here to guide you every step of the way. We offer free workshops and resources to help you navigate through the essential steps required to turn your start up idea into a profitable business. Getting an understanding of the basic fundamentals will help you make decisions and take actions ultimately saving you time in running your business, help you make more money and give you confidence to build a successful business.

Owners of properties designated under the Ontario Heritage Act, protected by a conservation easement agreement, or a Historic Site designation, may receive grants in support of the restoration of their heritage resource. There are also grants for project/events and publications.

As you think about growing your business, you could be unsure of exactly what your options are. Let’s work together to create a plan for scaling your business. Whether it’s a business plan, workflows and automation or increasing your sales and rebranding – we can brainstorm and come up with an action plan together.

The Year-round grants are intended for large re-urbanization projects over 5,000 sq. ft. that create new floor space for affordable housing units and/or non-residential uses that include an office employment component.The program. provides a tax increment grant equal to a portion or full amount of the estimated property tax increase after the property is redeveloped and reassessed
Additional incentives will be provided for developments that include heritage conservation and/or sustainable building design and construction

The purpose of the grant is to to improve appearance of streetscape and buildings, and conserve heritage features. City and UpTown BIA grants are matched to funding from the applicant. Heritage designation grant does not require matching funds

Find the perfect place for your company
You want to grow in Waterloo and that means finding the right commercial or industrial space for your company. Waterloo EDC can help with the search, leveraging our strong relationships with real estate professionals and developers across the community.

Tap into Canada’s world-leading business immigration programs
Talent is a global marketplace and Canada is home to the world’s best immigration programs. Are you a business and looking to get work visas for your staff through a fast, simple process? We can help.

Get the custom data you need to make
your expansion decision
Expansion decisions are all about data. How do costs or talent compare across potential new locations? How do lease rates compare with other communities? What sort of tax rates can you expect? We can answer these questions.

Find out what makes Waterloo so special
It’s hard to describe what makes this community so special in words – we always say you need to come here to experience the culture first-hand. We can help make that happen. We’ll help your company put together a custom tour of Waterloo and schedule meetings with local business leaders, researchers and professional services providers.

Get help finding the talent to grow your business
Expanding to a new community starts with talent. You need someone to lead your local office. You need people to work in it. You need a steady flow of potential recruits. We can help.

Building-wide funding for toilet, showerhead and tap aerator upgrades
Receive funding to support the upgrading of your apartment building with water-efficient toilets, showerheads and tap aerators. This program is best suited for medium to large-sized apartment buildings interested in long-term savings.

The Water Efficient Technology (W.E.T.) program provides commercial, industrial and institutional-sector companies with resources and funding to reduce water use.

Receive a $15 rebate for every toilet flapper you replace. When applying for the rebate you can also request free water-efficient showerheads and tap aerators for additional water savings.

This program help startup companies transition from temporary spaces to more permanent office spaces in downtown Kitchener. This program also helps property owners lease out their vacant or underused building spaces to local companies.

The Starter Company Plus (SCP) Program is for business owners operating less than 5 years (market ready and ready to sell), ready to expand (hiring employees, contractors, or getting a location), or buying a business in Waterloo Region.

Reduced rates for a new industrial building or an enlargement of more than 50 per cent of the gross floor area of an existing industrial building, as defined in the Regional Development Charge By-law 14-046.

Limited grants to offset Regional Development Charges (RDC) for rental and supportive housing project priorities that proceed to building permit stage on a first-come, first-served basis. Only applicable for projects that have received a capital grant through the Affordable Housing Strategy Program.

Brownfield sites may be eligible for Regional Development Charge (RDC) Exemptions to help cover the cost of remediation. The value of the RDC Exemption is based on the sum of direct costs of remediation at 50% reimbursement to a maximum of $1,000,000, less any additional financial assistance previously received. This exemption applies to all of Waterloo Region, except where development charges are waived for developments. Please refer to the Regional Development Charges Bylaw 19-037 (specifically, Schedule C) for more information.

The Region of Waterloo Arts Fund is situated on the Haldimand Tract, land that was promised to Six Nations, and was traditionally used by the Haudenosaunee, Anishinaabe, and Neutral Peoples. We are grateful to have the opportunity to live, work, create, and to meet on territory protected by the Dish With One Spoon wampum. The enduring presence, philosophies, and deep traditional knowledge of First Peoples are foundational to the arts and culture of this place. We are committed to supporting local creators by acknowledging the collective past, and respecting the contributions of all peoples.

Communitech’s Peer2Peer Groups provide an opportunity for individuals in similar roles or functions to learn, exchange advice and explore best practices through a range of topics and session formats.

Section 40 of the Planning Act, R.S.O. 1990, c.P.13 (the “Planning Act”) allows the council of a municipality to exempt the owner of a property from the requirement to provide parking, subject to an agreement being registered on title to the lands. Subsection 40(2) states that the agreement shall provide for the making of one or more payments of money to the municipality as consideration for the granting of the exception but does not specify a monetary amount. Subsection 40(2) is typically applied where cash-in-lieu of parking is deemed appropriate by the municipality, to off-set the expense of providing municipal parking to meet demands that cannot be accommodated on site. In this instance, cashin-lieu of parking will not be necessary, as the parking reduction for affordable housing

Communitech has teamed up with experienced marketing experts who can craft tailored strategies to maximize your market impact and drive growth.

Communitech has teamed up with trusted data experts who can help work through your data challenges and identify tailored solutions to harness the full potential of your data.

New multi-residential developments with a building permit issued after April 11, 2001 with six units or more are automatically provided with the optional property tax class at the time of assessment.

Take your MedTech company to the next level with hands-on coaching, in-depth company analysis, and direct access to healthcare professionals and industry partners. This program is designed to help you navigate compliance, refine your growth strategy, and accelerate success.

The heritage grant program helps cover the costs of conserving our cultural heritage resources. Maintaining our history can be expensive, so we hope to make it more affordable for property owners.

The Good AI program is here to help founders navigate the world of AI responsibly. Join our community of industry experts and gain the tools and guidance you need to proactively address AI opportunities and challenges, all while prioritizing ethical principles.

Supports women and non-binary founders from equity-deserving groups with $10,000 in non-matching funds and growth coaching.

For founders with a product in-market and generating revenue: build a growth plan and execute it with hands-on support and potential access to $50,000.

Six weeks of support for founders validating ideas and building out an MVP.

Downtown Kitchener is a hub of activity, and downtown businesses want to make a lasting impression on visitors. Our façade grant program can help.

We offer grants to eligible downtown property owners and tenants who want to make street-facing building façade improvements.

ElevateIP is a federally funded, nationwide project designed to help business accelerators and incubators like Communitech provide the tools Canadian startups need to understand, strategically manage and leverage their intellectual property.

This 5-week introductory program aims to help aspiring entrepreneurs learn how to start a business. The program is open to individuals who have an idea but have not registered a business and want to journey from uncertainty to entrepreneurial readiness.

If development includes the enlargement of the gross floor area of an existing industrial building, the amount of the development charge that is payable in respect of the enlargement is determined in accordance with Section 4 and Regulations of the Ontario Development Charge Act, 1997, c. 27.

If you are an employer with a job opening, the Region’s Employment Ontario staff will work with you to find the right person. Our services are free. Our staff meet with you to understand your hiring needs and help you find suitable job candidates.

We can provide:
Access to a robust toolkit of digital resources and a network of employment service organizations
User-friendly digital tools enable you to effortlessly post job vacancies, reaching thousands of candidates
Access to powerful AI matching tool to search through our extensive resume database
Tailored support from career specialists
Support for diversity and inclusion
Access to job seeker placement incentives and support
Canada Ontario Job Grant application guidance
12 months of post-employment coaching and upskilling support for your chosen candidates

Seamlessly connect with the perfect match for your tech journey, whether you’re seeking your next career move or the perfect addition to your team.

Unlock your growth potential.
Chart your course to funding and scaling with tailored support for your journey.
Tap into a network of capital partners, growth opportunities, fundraising support and tools with Strategic Capital Services.

Communitech’s Startup Programming is built to help tech leaders at every stage—whether you’re just coming up with an idea, refining it or gaining early traction, we’ve got your back! Get access to expert mentorship, funding opportunities, and the right connections to accelerate growth. From tailored workshops to hands-on coaching, we provide the support, structure, and community you need to turn bold ideas into thriving businesses.

Scaling Smart is a workshop series tailored for scale-ups, offering practical strategies and expert insights to help founders and leaders navigate growth challenges and scale their companies effectively.

Communitech’s Pro Squad allows member companies to access trusted advice from pre-vetted sources without the need to shop around

Communitech Outposts makes it easy for Canadian tech companies to quickly onboard, pay and manage global employees without having to create a new corporate entity or hire a contractor.

The Growth Coaches act as mentors to qualifying, referred Communitech startups and scale-ups.

Between Communitech staff and our Growth Coaches, our team’s diverse competencies and deep networks help you tackle a range of challenges, including fundraising, sales, marketing, intellectual property management and product development.

Fast Track Connect makes it easy to find tech solutions tailored to your needs. We link you with Canadian innovators to quickly test and implement new ideas, so you can tackle challenges with confidence.

The Brownfields Community Improvement Plan (BCIP) is a joint tax increment grant provided by the Region of Waterloo and the City of Waterloo. This program helps offset the costs of redeveloping brownfield properties — lands previously used for industrial, manufacturing or commercial purposes that may require environmental cleanup.

The BCIP was originally approved in 2013 and does not have a set end date. However, city or regional council may cancel the program at any time.

This program provides Ontario-based startups and scale-ups using HD mapping technologies up to $50,000 in funding with a 1:1.5 match thanks to the Autonomous Vehicle Integration Network (AVIN).
There are 3 application streams:
1. Self-Healing Maps,
2. Smart Cities and Mobility,
3. Open call for other project applications.