The Saskatchewan government is reviving its grant program for small and medium-sized businesses required to close or reduce operations due to COVID-19 public health restrictions.
The Saskatchewan Small Business Emergency Payment (SSBEP) has been renewed for December, which is estimated to provide $8 million in support for businesses.
Eligible businesses will get a payment of 15 per cent of their monthly sales revenue, up to a maximum of $5,000 based on the greater sales revenue for either November or December 2019 or February 2020.
Seasonal businesses are also eligible. The funding will be 15 per cent of the average monthly sales revenue for the months the business fully operated in 2019.
“Our small business community continues to be impacted by the global COVID-19 pandemic,” Trade and Export Development Minister Jeremy Harrison said Thursday in a statement.
“As we focus on our economic recovery plan during this challenging period, renewing this program will help provide critical assistance to our small businesses who have had to fully or partially close their doors to protect public health and reduce the spread of COVID-19.”
SSBEP was initially launched in April when the province went into lockdown. During that time the province earmarked $50 million for the program, which ended up providing more than $32 million in support for 6,485 businesses, says the government.
Applications for the renewal begin Dec. 7 and end Jan. 31, 2021.
With more than 151,000 small and medium-sized businesses in Saskatchewan, not all of them will qualify for the grant.
- have been operating on Oct. 31, 2020, or are a seasonal business
- have been ordered to temporarily suspend or curtail their operations due to the public health order
- have less than 500 employees
- attest that they have experienced a loss due to a COVID-19 public health order and that they plan to reopen operations following cancellation of the public health order.
Applicants will be able to apply online.