PIER FIVE

Eligibility Criteria

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To be eligible for the Mastercard x Pier Five Small Business Fund, each applicant and corresponding submission must meet the following criteria:

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1.  The individual applicant must (i) identify as a cis or transgender woman; (ii) be 19 years of age or older; (iii) be a Canadian citizen, a permanent resident of Canada, or hold current and valid authorization under the Canadian Immigration and Refugee Protection Act; and (iv) be the owner of the business identified in the application.

2. The business must have a Canadian or provincial business registration number in addition to a registered business name.

3. The business must have a minimum of 1 employee and up to a maximum of 99 employees.

4. The business must make less than $1 million CAD in yearly revenue.

5. The business must have been in operation in Canada for at least one (1) calendar year prior to October 1, 2023.

6. The application form must be completed online at https://www.pier-five.com/smallbusinessfund2023-apply 

7. The business must not: be a franchised operation; be a not-for-profit or charitable entity; religiously or politically affiliated; or receive government funding on an ongoing basis for its operational expenses.

8. Each applicant consents to, and agrees to cooperate with, all legal due diligence and background checks that the Sponsors may elect to conduct on the individual applicant and/or the business.

9. Employees, representatives or agents of Sponsors, their parent, affiliated or related companies, subsidiaries, divisions and all advertising, media buying and promotional agencies, and any businesses that these individuals own or are affiliated with, are ineligible, as well as members of the immediate family of, or persons domiciled with, any of those described above. Recipients of a prior fund or grant from Mastercard, Pier Five, American Express, Visa, Union Pay, Discover, PayPal or Interac prior to October 1, 2023 are also ineligible. Franchisees, non-for-profit entities, entities that can apply and/or receive government funding, or are religiously or politically affiliated are also ineligible.

10. All individual applicants and businesses are subject to review and approval by Sponsors, in their absolute discretion, to determine their eligibility for a Fund.

11. Limit of one submission per person and per business. If a business has two co-owners, both of whom meet the individual eligibility criteria, then only one submission may be made by one of the co-owners on behalf of both co-owners.