Nventure uses a common application form across all its funding programs. During the application process, please be prepared to confirm the program / programs you are applying to.

Please have the following documents ready to upload.

Start-ups (in business <12 months):

• Business Plan

• 12-month cashflow forecast

In addition, applicants will be asked to provide:

• Personal resumé(s)

Established Businesses (in business >12 months):

• Financial Statements for last two years (in-house or accountant prepared).

In addition, applicants will be asked to provide:

• Scanned image file of documents confirming your personal identity and that of any major shareholders/owners/principals

• Articles of Incorporation/Business Registration

• CRA account information (HST, Source Deductions)

• Electronic copy of business insurance policy

• Business performance metrics (e.g. income, expenses, gross margin calculation, etc.)

DELIA Loan applicants must be a Canadian citizen or a legal entity owned and controlled by a Canadian citizen, including:

• a sole proprietorship, an unincorporated business that is owned by one individual;

• a for-profit small Canadian business federally/provincially/territorially incorporated in Canada that is controlled directly or indirectly by one or more resident persons;

• a for-profit co-operative corporation incorporated under a federal, provincial or territorial co-operative Act, or;

• a social enterprise that earns revenue from the regular supply of personal property/goods and services and meets the profitability and equity criteria above;

• not-for-profit organizations are not eligible for loans.

Individuals submitting loan applications must be:

• At least 19 years of age

• A Canadian citizen or Permanent Resident

• Residing in Canada

Eligible businesses are those which are over 50% Women-owned. In the case of a Sole Proprietorship, the Sole Proprietor is a woman.
Further, the business is managed and controlled by one or more Women, where a Woman is a signatory of the business’s legal documents and financial accounts, and which is operated independently from businesses that are not owned by Women.

Applicants must have and maintain:

• a valid and separate business bank account and satisfy basic liquidity requirements,

• a Business Number registered with the Canada Revenue Agency

DELIA is restricted from making loans to companies primarily engaged in certain activities, such as:

• holding or managing real estate

• extracting resources

• selling, marketing or providing gambling, pornography, alcohol, tobacco, weapons or illegal goods.

Eligible expenses that can be financed by a DELIA Loan include:

• Capital assets (including machinery/equipment, leasehold/property improvements)

• Office and equipment rental

• Salaries and benefits (excluding owner’s salary)

• IT/Software license purchase

• Professional services

• Inventory/Supplies

• Intellectual Property

• Working Capital (e.g. payroll, lease payments, accounts management, rent, overhead costs)

• Digital (including website/E-commerce development)

• Marketing/advertising/business promotion

• Employee training

• Short term receivable financing (i.e. financing to service a contract)

• Business start up costs (legal fees, business incorporation fees, business plan preparation, etc.).

Ineligible expenses include:

• Capital expenditures on real property (e.g. land/building purchases)

• Goodwill

• Amortization Costs

• Purchase of assets for more than fair market value

• Owner’s salary

• Payment of bonuses

• Refinancing existing debt

• Purchase of stocks/shares

• Franchise fees

• Research and development

• Management fees

• Dividend payout

• Increase to shareholder or management committee compensation.

DELIA investment may not be used for any of the ineligible expenses listed above.

Begin by clicking Apply Now.

Applicants will be taken to Nventure's common application platform powered by Reviewr and inclusive of Nventure's proprietary fundability AI.

The application normally takes no longer than 30 minutes and sometimes as little as 15 minutes if you have all of your information ready.

Application submissions will be confirmed by email. A DELIA representative will contact you regarding the final decision (APPROVE or DECLINE). If APPROVED, Nventure will issue a Letter of Offer and Loan Agreement and ultimately disburse funds via EFT directly to your business bank account.

Normally, successful applicants can expect to receive funds net of two weeks from the date of submission of a full and complete application.

At the same time, Nventure reserves the right to carry out extended due diligence in review of any application and does not guarantee any amount of funding to any applicant. Lending decisions are made in the sole and unfettered discretion of Nventure.

Who administers the loan?

Nventure Business Development Corporation (o/a “Nventure”, formerly Northumberland Business Development Assistance Corp. o/a "Northumberland CFDC" abbreviated "NCFDC") administers the DELIA Loan, with the support of ISED Canada.

Nventure is a non-profit innovation and entrepreneurship NGO governed by a volunteer Board of Directors comprised of entrepreneurs, experts and professionals. Nventure has provided financing and strategy to entrepreneurs since 1985 in Northumberland, since 2002 through the Community Futures Program, and since 2019 across Canada via the DELIA initiative. Nventure is located at Venture13 in Cobourg, Ontario, just over an hour East of Toronto.

What about the confidentiality of my application?

Please review our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use. Information is collected for the limited purpose of assessing your application to DELIA, and for ongoing loan monitoring and reporting to the Government of Canada. DELIA Loan recipients are not disclosed publicly except with the recipient’s prior written consent.

Will a DELIA application affect my credit score?

Completing the full DELIA application will result in a credit enquiry. For more information about how loan applications affect your credit, read this helpful article from Equifax (click here).

How much can I ask for?

Applicants can request up to $50,000 for a DELIA Loan. The amount approved will be based on our analysis of your request. Approved amounts are typically $15,000.

How do you calculate the interest rate and is it the same rate for all clients?

DELIA Loans are automatically risk-rated by on our proprietary fundability AI and confirmed by Nventure. The interest rate varies between Prime +2 and Prime +4% based on the personal and business information provided. As a result, the interest rate will vary with each loan recipient.

Can I accept financing from DELIA if I’ve received loan(s) from other Loan Administrator(s) delivering the Government of Canada’s Women Entrepreneurship Loan Fund?

Eligible borrowers cannot receive more than a total of $50,000 from all Loan Administrators of the Government of Canada’s Women Entrepreneurship Loan Fund.

Are Permanent Residents of Canada eligible to apply to DELIA?

Business owners who are Permanent Residents of Canada (PR) are eligible to apply for DELIA.  Should the loan application be approved, their PR status must be valid for the full duration of the DELIA loan amortization.