BDC Growth & Transition Capital
Compared with the 242 other application forms we have read
- Scored mainly on whether you can afford it and pay it back. 42 lead with that.
- States real length limits, about 121 words in total. Only 64 tell you how long to write.
- What does not disqualify you: No down payment required; No board seat or shareholder agreement. 119 record an exemption like this.
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Eligibility & Details
What this program funds and who can apply
Program Description
Customized mezzanine, cash flow and quasi-equity financing from BDC Capital, from $250,000 to $35M, for Canadian businesses that need capital for expansion, a business acquisition or an ownership transition. It is structured to preserve cash flow without diluting ownership: BDC's security is subordinated to your secured lenders, and in most cases BDC takes no shareholder agreement, no management rights and no board seat. You start with a public online request form, and a representative structures the deal with you from there.
Eligibility Requirements
- Run an established or high-growth firm
- Have a strong management team
- Demonstrate quality of financial reporting
- In operation at least 12 months. BDC's form turns away younger businesses and points them to start-up programs
- Financing structured as mezzanine debt, cash flow financing, or quasi-equity depending on business profile and transaction
- BDC's general loan criteria also ask for a Canadian-based business, 12 to 24 months of revenue-generating operations depending on the loan type, a profitable business or a clear path to profitability, and shareholders of legal age with good credit history. The quasi-equity structure is the deliberate exception: it exists for commercialization-phase companies that have not yet reached positive cash flow
Quick Assessment
Funding Details
- Amount
- Financing from $250,000 to $35M, structured deal by deal
- Type
- Loan
- Level
- Federal
- Deadline
- Ongoing
Program Scorecard
Competition, effort, and approval at a glance
Difficult — significant preparation needed
Low competition — good odds of approval
Complex — detailed documentation needed
How to qualify
Insider tips, common pitfalls, and what successful applicants look like
Insider TipGrowth & Transition Capital sits under BDC Capital, not BDC's standard business-loan lineup, and BDC does publish the range: $250,000 to $35M.
Success Profile
Evaluation Criteria
How BDC Capital judges your application
What the reviewer scores, what gets applications rejected, and what to write.
Distilled from 6+ source documents on bdc.ca, condensed into one brief. Sources as of 2026-09-03.
6 of the sources
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What BDC Capital favours
Loans fund growth: expansion, equipment, technology, working capital◦
“Clear purpose: Loans are intended for growth projects like expansion, equipment, technology, or working capital.”
The form
Your business and the amount
- 1How long has your business been in operation?selectionno limit
- 2How much are you looking to borrow?short answerno limit
Contact
- 3How can we reach you?short answer · 50 characters
- 4How did you hear about BDC?selectionno limit
Company profile
- 5Tell us about your businessshort answer · 100 characters
- 6Business addressshort answer · 80 characters
Timing
- 7When would you like the funds to be available?selectionno limit
Your project
- 8Tell us about your project and how the loan will be usedwritten answer · 500 characters
Before you apply
- 9Information you need on hand to complete the applicationlistno limit
After you submit
- 10Documents that may be requested after submissionlistno limit
- 11Client Space accountshort answerno limit
bar = length the funder allows, from its stated limits
Judged against
- 1
Can this team run a real business?
Show them Name the management team and show an operating history of at least 12 months with clean financial reporting.◦
In the funder’s words · 2
- Run an established or high-growth firm
- Have a strong management team
- 2
Will cash flow cover the repayments?
What to show, and the funder’s 2 criteria behind it in Premium
- 3
Do the numbers and the plan hold up?
What to show, and the funder’s 2 criteria behind it in Premium
- 4
Can you buy and run this business?
What to show, and the funder’s 2 criteria behind it in Premium
7 questions the reviewer answers about you, in Premium.
Where applicants fail
“If you're looking for a loan of $350,000 or less, check out our Small Business Loan.”
“They may be able to help you with programs designed for start-up businesses. BDC provides financing for businesses that have been in operation at least 12 months.”
Premium · the rest of this brief
See all 21 rules that can reject you and every criterion you are judged on. Then we draft your application for you.
16 more rules that can reject you · 6 more criteria · 3 more prompts
Do you pass?
21 can rule you out; 1 is a preference. Tick the ones you meet.
You
Canadian citizen or permanent resident, adult
To apply for a BDC loan you must be a Canadian citizen or permanent resident and have reached the age of majority in the province or territory in which you live
Your business
Mid-market or high-revenue company
Our Growth & Transition Capital team offers financing solutions on flexible terms to both mid-market and high-revenue Canadian companies
Operating for at least 12 months
BDC provides financing for businesses that have been in operation at least 12 months
Canadian-based business
A Canadian-based business
Adult shareholders with good credit
Shareholders of legal age with good credit history
2 things this funder says you do NOT need, in Premium.
Documents to attach
Ticks are kept on this device.
The money
Financing range$250,000 to $35M
Financing from $250,000 to $35M
Online request floorOver $350,000
Enter an amount higher than $350,000 without a period, comma, or dollar sign.
Unitranche thresholdOver $5 million
Unitranche financing is an attractive solution for acquisition or change of ownership transactions over $5 million.
Mezzanine repayment2 to 8 years
Repay your loan over a period of 2 to 8 years
Cash flow repayment3 to 8 years
you can repay your loan over a period of 3 to 8 years and protect your cash flow.
StackingPartners can add operating line or ABL
Unitranche financing is an attractive solution for acquisition or change of ownership transactions over $5 million. BDC offers unitranche loans to simplify and speed up the process by combining senior term debt and subordinated debt into a one-stop solution.... We will also partner with other financial institutions to provide an operating line of credit or an Asset-Based Lending (ABL) facility along with the unitranche loan.
What it pays for · 4
- Growth initiatives that require working capital; Such as R&D, product and market development or to invest in intangible assets and goodwill.
- Transferring a business; Including family successions, management and partner buyouts, and management buy-ins.
- Buying a business; A competitor's or supplier's business, for example.
- your company can raise capital for projects such as R&D, and product and market development, or to invest in intangible assets such as intellectual property and goodwill
From application to money
- Talk to a regional expertReach a regional expert directly
- Submit the online requestSubmit online request, representative contacts you
- Advisor reviewBDC advisor reviews and discusses options
- Due diligence and structuringProvide statements, projections; BDC structures deal
- Sign in Client SpaceAccept offer and sign documents
In the funder’s words · 5
- Talk to a regional expert
- A member may skip the form entirely and reach a regional expert directly.
- Submit the online request
- Submit the online information request and one of our representatives will contact you to discuss financing options tailored to your business.
- Advisor review
- After submitting your application, a BDC advisor will review everything and contact you to discuss options.
- Due diligence and structuring
- You provide statements, projections and the transaction documents, and BDC structures the deal.
- Sign in Client Space
- Accept the loan offer and sign the related documents, if the business qualifies for a loan.
Quoted lines are word for word from the source documents; lines marked ◦ are our reading of them.
Everything you need to secure BDC Growth & Transition Capital
Not a marketing summary. The actual checklist, intel, and stack strategy reviewers look for.
- 5-document checklist with what each reviewer is actually checking
- Your Application Game Plan — the print-ready PDF the preview below describes
- 6-step application timeline with prep hours per step
- Insider tip from program officers on what separates winners
- 3-program stacking strategy to combine with compatible funding
- Success profile + evaluation criteria — exactly what lenders look for
Application Playbook
Step-by-step process, required documents, and expenses
Application Steps
Required Documents 5
Eligible Expenses 4
Ineligible Expenses 3
Deadline Notes
Ineligible Organizations
Funding Stack Strategy
Compatible programs, clawback risk, and combined funding potential
Compatible Programs
Clawback Risk
Not-applicable RiskHow BDC Growth & Transition Capital Compares
Side-by-side with similar programs
| Program | Amount | Difficulty | Payment | Deadline |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BDC Growth & Transition Capital | Financing from $250,000 to $35M,... | Hard | Mixed (Advance + Reimb.) | Ongoing |
| BDC Small Business Loan | Up to $350,000 | Easy | Advance Payment | Ongoing |
| Canada Small Business Financing Program | Up to $1.15 million | Easy | Mixed (Advance + Reimb.) | Ongoing |
Related Programs
Other programs you might be eligible for
Frequently Asked Questions
Quick answers to the questions founders most often ask about BDC Growth & Transition Capital