FACE — Black Entrepreneurship Loan Fund
Compared with the 241 other application forms we have read
- Scored mainly on whether you can afford it and pay it back. 42 lead with that.
- What does not disqualify you: Identity questions are optional. 118 record an exemption like this.
- Only 1 written answer, against a median of 5.
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Eligibility & Details
What this program funds and who can apply
Program Description
The FACE Black Entrepreneurship Loan Fund provides business loans of $10,000–$250,000 (up to $50,000 for start-ups, up to $250,000 for existing businesses) to Black-majority-owned for-profit businesses across Canada, secured by personal guarantees from the shareholder-guarantors. Delivered by FACE under the federal Black Entrepreneurship Program, it offers risk-based pricing (FACE publishes no fixed rate) and dedicated support from a client relationship manager throughout the application process.
Eligibility Requirements
- Business must be majority-owned (>51%) by Black Canadians who are Canadian citizens or permanent residents, with BOTH shareholdings and voting rights favouring that Black majority
- Applicant must be at least 18 years old
- For-profit businesses only: corporations, sole proprietors, for-profit social enterprises, and cooperatives are eligible
- Both start-ups and existing businesses are eligible
- Must have a viable business plan with realistic financial projections
- Business must be registered in Canada
- Loan purpose must be for capital investment, working capital, or short-term receivable financing
- Not-for-profit organizations are ineligible
- FACE defines a start-up as a business operating at least 3 months with under 12 months of consecutive sales, and an existing business as operating more than 18 months with historical financial statements and tax returns (T2 + Notice of Assessment) available — a pre-launch business (under 3 months) falls outside both definitions
- Eligible business structures include partnerships (limited and non-limited), in addition to sole proprietorships, corporations and co-operatives
Quick Assessment
Funding Details
- Amount
- $25,000–$250,000; up to $100,000 direct from FACE; $100,000–$250,000 risk-shared with BDC
- Type
- Loan
- Level
- Federal
- Deadline
- Ongoing
Program Scorecard
Competition, effort, and approval at a glance
Moderate — standard application process
High competition — many applicants
Moderate — standard requirements
How to qualify
Insider tips, common pitfalls, and what successful applicants look like
Insider TipTreat the business plan as your primary investment — hire a business plan writer or spend significant time on financial projections before applying.
Rejection Pitfalls 7
- Business plan lacks credibility — projections are unrealistic or insufficiently detailed
Success Profile
Evaluation Criteria
How FACE — Black Entrepreneurship Loan Fund judges your application
What the reviewer scores, what gets applications rejected, and what to write.
Distilled from 6+ source documents, condensed into one brief. Sources as of 2026-09-04.
6 of the sources
- FACE — Loan Program facecoalition.com
- CMS payload behind the Loan Program page face-backend-prod-723107685236.us-east1.run.app
- FACE — FAQ facecoalition.com
- FACE — Resources facecoalition.com
- FACE — home page facecoalition.com
- FACE member portal — account sign-up, entry step members.facecoalition.com
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What FACE — Black Entrepreneurship Loan Fund favours
Adjudication looks beyond your credit score◦
“Our adjudication model takes into consideration several factors in addition to the credit score.”
The form
Sign-up
- 1Who's registering?selection
- 2Create your accountshort answer
Documents
- 3Detailed business planwritten answer
- 4Historical financial statementsspreadsheet
- 5Financial projectionsspreadsheet
- 6Tax returns — business and ownerlist
- 7Personal Statement of Affairstable
- 8Government-issued Photo IDshort answer
- 9Business registration / certificate of incorporationshort answer
Intake
- 10Intake — intersectional identity questionsselection
FACE — Black Entrepreneurship Loan Fund states no length limits for these answers.
Judged against
- 1
Can this business repay the loan?
Show them Show a business plan and two-to-three-year projections in which operating cash flow covers the debt service on the amount you request.◦
In the funder’s words · 1
- Our adjudication model takes into consideration several factors in addition to the credit score.
- 2
Is the package complete before anyone reads it?
What to show, and the funder’s 1 criterion behind it in Premium
- 3
Do the owners qualify and stand behind it?
What to show them in Premium
Where applicants fail
“Face Support Centre (FSC) reviews applications for completeness and checks documents.”
“NOTE: Start-ups and existing businesses must provide two to three-year financial projections.”
“Personal Guarantees secure the BELF loans. If the business cannot repay the loans, the guarantor will be called upon to repay the loan.”
Premium · the rest of this brief
See all 5 rules that can reject you and every criterion you are judged on. Then we draft your application for you.
3 more rules that can reject you · 1 more criteria · 6 more prompts
Do you pass?
Each one can rule you out. Tick the ones you meet.
You
Owners 18+, Black, permanent resident
Eligible Individuals (shareholders and guarantors) must be: a) at least 18 years old, b) identify as black and c) be, at minimum, a permanent resident of Canada.
Your business
Majority Black-owned, 51% shares and votes
Eligible Businesses must be majority black-owned. Where there are multiple shareholders: majority shareholdings and voting rights are to favour a black majority of no less than 51%.
1 thing this funder says you do NOT need, in Premium.
Documents to attach
Ticks are kept on this device.
The money
Start-up ceilingUp to $50K
If you are a start up, funding released will be up to $50K.
Existing business ceilingUp to $250K
If you are an existing business, funding released will be up to $250K
Interest and feesSubject to borrower risk rating
Subject to borrowers risk rating.
Repayment periodUp to 60 months
Principal amortization up to 60-month period
Interest-only periodUp to 12 months
Interest only up to 12 months (conditions may apply).
What it pays for · 3
- Capital investments - equipment, leasehold improvements, property improvement, office equipment
- Working capital - Inventory, payroll, accounts management, rent, overhead costs
- Short-term receivable financing (i.e. financing to service a contract)
From application to money
- Register on FACE platformRegister on FACE platform
- Submit your applicationSubmit completed application with documents
- Completeness checkFACE Support Centre checks completeness
- Credit reviewLending team reviews credit
- Adjudication decisionLoans Committee adjudicates the request
- Background checks and disbursementOffer issued, accepted, loan disbursed
In the funder’s words · 6
- Register on FACE platform
- Register on the FACE platform.
- Submit your application
- Submit a completed application containing the required documents.
- Completeness check
- Face Support Centre (FSC) reviews applications for completeness and checks documents.
- Credit review
- Credit review is carried out by the Lending team using the information provided.
- Adjudication decision
- Adjudication is done on the loan request by the Loans Committee or Credit Risk Management.
- Background checks and disbursement
- The offer is issued and accepted, and the loan is disbursed.
Quoted lines are word for word from the source documents; lines marked ◦ are our reading of them.
Everything you need to secure FACE — Black Entrepreneurship Loan Fund
Not a marketing summary. The actual checklist, intel, and stack strategy reviewers look for.
- 7 rejection pitfalls reviewers flag — so you catch them first
- 7-document checklist with what each reviewer is actually checking
- Your Application Game Plan — the print-ready PDF the preview below describes
- 7-step application timeline with prep hours per step
- Insider tip from program officers on what separates winners
- 4-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 7
Eligible Expenses 3
Ineligible Expenses 5
Deadline Notes
Ineligible Organizations
Funding Stack Strategy
Compatible programs, clawback risk, and combined funding potential
Compatible Programs
Clawback Risk
Low RiskHow FACE — Black Entrepreneurship Loan Fund Compares
Side-by-side with similar programs
| Program | Amount | Difficulty | Payment | Deadline |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FACE — Black Entrepreneurship Loan Fund | up to $100,000 | Moderate | Loan | Ongoing |
| Black Entrepreneurship Program | Up to $250,000 | Moderate | Loan | Ongoing |
| Futurpreneur Canada Startup Program | Up to $75,000 | Moderate | Loan | Ongoing |
| Canada Small Business Financing Program | Up to $1.15 million | Easy | Mixed (Advance + Reimb.) | Ongoing |
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Frequently Asked Questions
Quick answers to the questions founders most often ask about FACE — Black Entrepreneurship Loan Fund