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... Program, The Business Development Program, and the Seed Capital Connexion Program for Young Entrepreneurs. The Small Business Seed Capital Equity Program is a program offered by The Department of Innovation Trade and Rural Development. It targets small businesses in Newfoundland and Labrador with annual sales of under $5 million. The program provides funding of up to $50,000 which must be matched by the applicant business. A business applying for this funding must show that it needs assistance to continue operating. There are activities the funding cannot be used for, as is the same with many programs like this one. Such activities include paying off general debt and buying an existing business with the funding provided without growing it. Certain types of businesses including real estate, wholesale and retail businesses are not eligible to apply for this program. The Business Development Program (BDP), offered by the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA) is a program offered to small and medium sized businesses to help them start up, expand or become more modern. The program offers intrest free, unsecured-meaning the business owner does not have to put up collateral- loans. This program is available to commercial businesses as well as non-profit organizations. The BDP can provide up to fifty percent financing for activities such as construction of purchasing of a building, site improvements like land clearing and paving and infrastructure need in order to operate. Up to seventy five percent financing may be provided for many activities having to do with marketing, training, productivity and quality improvement, innovations and business proposal development. The Seed Capital Connexion Program for Young Entrepreneurs is a program for people aged eighteen to twenty nine living in Atlantic Canada. It offers up to $15,000 in repayable, unsecured loans and up to $2,000 funding is available for training and business counseling. Like many of the other programs discussed, loans taken out by young entrepreneurs must be used for the start-up, expansion or modernization of the business, and cannot be used to purchase an already existing business. With technology constantly improving and many more people using the internet, the amount of mentoring and advice available to small business owners and people interested in starting a small business in Newfoundland and Labrador is improving as well. More and more programs and organizations such as Odyssey, The Interactive Business planner, The Online Business Workshop, and The Business Start-up Assistant are being made available to encourage and help entrepreneurs make smart decisions ownership and management of small businesses. Odyssey is a CYBF mentor program offering friendly one-on-one online mentoring to young Canadian entrepreneurs. It allows young people to ask questions, speak with and receive good advice from experienced, highly qualified business people. The program is free and easy to use---get more* The Interactive Business Planner (IBP) is a web-based tool for anyone interested in starting a business. The planner is free, easy to use and has many benefits. It provides an easy, step-by-step three year business plan for users to complete. This gives entrepreneurs a very clear view of exactly what they will need to start the business such as money, employees and equipment. It also helps people to figure out how much profit they should expect to make, wage rates, and exactly which good or services they should offer. This online program encourages market and industry research before deciding to go into a particular business . The Online Small Business Workshop*getsite * is a series of six online sessions that can be taken by anyone interested in small business ownership. Each of these sessions covers a different area of small business ownership. 1.Ideas and planning 2.Market research ...