By Chris Brown

Applications open in April

Alberta announces more financial support for businesses

Feb 17, 2021 | 2:56 PM

An extra $10,000 will be available to small- and medium-sized businesses in Alberta that have seen significant drops in revenue due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The money is being made available through the government’s Enhanced COVID-19 Business Benefit. It replaces the Small and Medium Enterprise Relaunch Grant when it expires at the end of March.

Premier Jason Kenney made the announcement today.

He says the benefit “will ensure that those businesses hit hardest by the pandemic continue to have access to critical support to help them to survive this crisis.”

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Kenney says businesses that experienced a 60 per cent drop in revenue will be eligible for up to 15 per cent of their typical monthly income, to a maximum of $10,000. Companies must have fewer than 500 employees to qualify and the money does not have to be repaid.

“Like the Small and Medium Enterprise Relaunch Grant that we launched last year, business owners can use this money to support their needs, whether it’s paying wages, paying for cleaning supplies, inventory or preparing for a safe reopening,” he says.

Applications will open in April. The total funding in the program is $120 million.

On Feb. 8 the province began to left public health restrictions that were put in place in December.

“We know that these public health measures cannot be lifted overnight,” says Kenney. “And we need to be able to support small businesses and job creators as they cope with the costs of this pandemic.”