Key facts
- Products
- Grant and tax credit financing, SR&ED financing
- Funding range
- Sized to the value of your tax credit, grant or receivable claim
- Repayment
- Bridge loan repaid when the credit or grant is received; typically funded in 10 to 15 business days
- Security
- First charge on the tax credit; no personal guarantees, no equity
- Operates in
- Canada
- Industries
- R&D and innovation, film and digital media, ocean technology, protein industries, AI
- Founded and headquarters
- 2023, Vancouver, British Columbia
What does Bonsai Growth offer?
Bonsai Growth offers bridge financing against three kinds of government or contract money you are owed but have not yet received: SR&ED tax credits, awarded grants and receivables. The loan is sized to the value of the claim, secured by a first charge on that credit, and repaid when the government or customer pays. There is no personal guarantee and no equity. Its website is bonsaigrowth.ca. Our SR&ED and grant financing page explains how these bridges work and what they usually cost.
Who does Bonsai Growth fund, and who do they decline?
Bonsai funds Canadian startups and growth companies that hold a filed or accruing SR&ED claim, a signed grant award or a receivable from a strong payer. Its published sectors are research and innovation, film and digital media, ocean technology, protein industries and AI, which reflects the programs it knows well.
It does not publish decline criteria. The limiting factor is the claim itself: no eligible credit, grant or receivable means nothing to lend against. A first time SR&ED filer with no claim history may face a smaller advance, and companies outside Canada are not eligible. Capital deployed is not published.
What does it typically cost and how fast is it?
Bonsai does not publish rates or fees; pricing is quoted per file against the size and certainty of the claim. Tax credit bridges are usually priced as a monthly rate on the amount advanced plus a setup fee, and the typical range is on our SR&ED and grant financing page. Speed is a published strength: funding typically lands within 10 to 15 business days of a complete file, which is faster than waiting months for the refund.
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Apply nowWhat will you need to apply?
Bring the claim paperwork: your SR&ED technical and financial schedules, or the grant award letter and claim schedule, prior year notices of assessment, recent financial statements and bank statements, a cap table and corporate documents. Our document checklist covers the general set; the claim documents are the extra piece for this product.
How does Bonsai Growth compare with similar lenders?
Venbridge, which also runs the Easly brand, lends $100,000 to $2 million against accrued SR&ED credits or recurring revenue and adds a quarterly drawn line, so it suits a company with repeat claims. Finalta Capital starts at $250,000 and funds larger innovative companies above $1 million in revenue, often in Quebec. Bonsai is the newest and most flexible on claim type, including grants and receivables, with the fastest published funding window.
How to apply
Apply once on this site and matching shows whether Bonsai Growth, or a similar lender, fits your file. You can also ask your AI assistant to collect your documents and apply for you through our MCP server. A profile in this directory is a market reference and does not by itself mean the lender is on our network for your file; matching shows the lenders available to you.
| Lender | Products | Funding range | Operates in | Best suited for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bonsai Growth | SR&ED, grant and tax credit financing | Sized to the claim | Canada | Canadian startups with tax credits or awarded grants wanting bridge capital |
| Venbridge | SR&ED and grant financing, line of credit | $100,000 to $2,000,000 | Canada | Canadian tech companies with accrued SR&ED credits or recurring revenue and claim history |
| Finalta Capital | SR&ED, grant and tax credit financing | $250,000 to $10,000,000 | Canada | Innovative Canadian companies above $1 million revenue with recurring credits |