Regional Relief and Recovery Fund (RRRF)

The Government of Canada, through Western Economic Diversification Canada, is providing loans of up to $60,000 for eligible women-run businesses to help small businesses cope with financial hardship and recovery from economic disruption resulting from COVID-19.

Women’s Enterprise Centre is pleased to provide access to this Regional Relief and Recovery Fund (RRRF) to women entrepreneurs in BC. If your business is majority woman-owned and controlled, and struggling to meet working capital needs due to COVID-19, then this may be a good option for you.

This option is available for sole proprietorships, partnerships and corporations.

Information included on this page

You may click on a heading below to jump to that section.

• Who is this fund for?
• Loan parameters
• Eligibility criteria
• Ineligible projects
• Eligible costs for support
• How to apply
• How to get an application form
• Frequent Asked Questions (FAQs)

Who is this fund for?

• Businesses must demonstrate they were financially healthy prior to COVID-19;
• Businesses must attest that they have applied for and either been declined or did not qualify for other government COVID-19 relief funds;
• Businesses must demonstrate how they have been negatively affected by COVID -19;
• Businesses must demonstrate ability to repay the debt based on historical financial information. An approved loan amount may be lower than the requested amount, based on eligible costs and ability to repay the debt.

Loan Parameters

Maximum assistance is $60,000.

• 0% interest and no principal payments until December 31, 2022;
• Principal repayments can be voluntarily made at any time;
• 25% (not to exceed $10,000) on the first $40,000, can be forgiven provided you have paid 75% of the original loan amount prior to December 31, 2022;
• 50% (not to exceed $10,000) on amounts between $40,001 to $60,000, can be forgiven provided you have paid 50% of the original loan amount prior to December 31, 2022;
• Includes wrap-around services from Women’s Enterprise Centre, including complimentary access to a Business Advisor, training and promotional opportunities, plus access to our Peer Mentoring Circles designed specifically for RRRF recipients;
• If loan is not repaid by December 31, 2022, the loan will be converted to a three-year term loan with interest rates up to 5%, effective January 1, 2023. The full balance must be repaid no later than December 31, 2025;
• Use of funds for repayment of existing loan debt, including but not limited to a WEC loan, is prohibited.

Eligibility Criteria

All applicants must be:

• A woman who owns and controls at least 51% of a business that is registered and located in British Columbia
• A Canadian citizen or Permanent Resident
• Residing in British Columbia
• Over 19 years old

As well:

• Eligible applicants include sole proprietors, partnerships and corporations.
• Eligible applicants must also meet the following criteria which will be captured in the application form:
  • Business was established prior to March 1, 2020;
  • Business was impacted adversely due to the COVID-19 pandemic;
  • Business was viable and not experiencing financial pressures prior to March 1, 2020;
  • Business was ineligible, rejected and/or not receiving other federal relief supports, such as the Canada Emergency Business Account (CEBA) for the same expenditure
• If you are seeking loans over $60,000 you may be eligible to receive RRRF assistance directly from Western Economic Diversification. However, you cannot receive RRRF assistance from both Women’s Enterprise Centre and directly through Western Economic Diversification.

Ineligible Projects

If a project falls into one of the categories below, it is not eligible:

• Projects in the pre-start-up phase for which seed or early-stage capital is required
• Any business in which the owner does not have operational control over important aspects of the business (this may include some franchises)
• Any business for which the majority of gross revenues do not come from direct sales of the business’s products or services (i.e. Multi-tiered marketing projects)
• Any projects that support businesses that do not operate on a for-profit basis
• Any investment that can be considered speculative
• Refinancing of existing debt from another lender

Eligible Costs for Support

Costs such as rent, salaries and benefits will only be considered if the applicant is rejected and/or not already receiving assistance for these costs from other federal and provincial funding measures:

1. salaries, and benefits (will only be considered if not eligible or declined from the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy) – cannot be used for owner wages;
2. property taxes;
3. rent (applicants are expected to pursue with their landlord access to the Canadian Emergency Commercial Rent Assistance (CECRA) for small businesses);
4. utilities;
5. cleaning supplies and additional safety measures;
6. bank interest/charges;
7. office supplies and vehicle operating expenses;
8. lease payments for existing equipment and machinery;
9. professional fees;
10. insurances; and
11. other eligible expenses associated with retooling, rethinking workflows, automation, robotics, developing new markets, etc.; breakdown of expenses and expected outcomes required.

The use of funds for the pre-payment of existing loan debt, outside of regularly scheduled debt payments, is prohibited.

How to Apply

To apply, you will need to provide:

1. A completed application form in the fillable PDF (please fill out the screening questions below to download the form). Scanned documents will not be accepted because some fields are not readable.
   1. Please note: We cannot accept applications with typed signatures. If you are unable to add an e-signature, please print, sign and scan the signature page of the application and the consent forms only. No other scanned pages will be accepted.
2. Accountant-prepared year-end financial statements, including income statement and balance sheet or CRA statement of business or professional activities (T2125 if the business is a sole proprietor) for the last 2 years (2019 and 2018).
3. Current year-to-date financial statements.
4. 12-month cash flow projections. (Click on this link to download a spreadsheet, then save it to your computer, fill it out and submit the file with your application.)
5. Copy of Business Licence
6. Proof of Business Insurance
7. Notice of Assessment for 2019 for all owners
8. If incorporated: incorporation certificate, Central Security Register (showing all shares issued to date), Notice of Articles verifying the directors of the company and shareholder agreement (if applicable).
9. Current lease (if applicable)
10. Other, as required

How to get an application form

Please note: We are currently experiencing an extremely high volume of loan applications and we are working through them in the order they are received. We will confirm receipt of your application within a few business days of receipt, and we appreciate your patience.

To receive an application form, please fill out the questions below.

Pour obtenir de l’aide concernant votre demande au titre du FARR et d’autres services en français, veuillez communiquer avec la Société de développement économique de la Colombie-Britannique.

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Frequently Asked Questions